


Poor Unfortunate Soul

by Kml19



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, Auradon Prep (Disney), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Friendship, Gen, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Mental Health Issues, Not Beta Read, Past Abuse, Post-Descendants 3, all romantic relationships that are not explicit in canon are implied, be safe, i want to go to Uma/Harry but I am not sure, non realistic descripition of mental illness, not that strong but i have to let you know, scared kids should get therapy and hugs, some gore, there are some things that don't have a platonic explanation but i am not going there, think what you want
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 19:02:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 50,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20412766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kml19/pseuds/Kml19
Summary: TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC“What?” Harry felt like a broken record but he couldn’t really listen to what she was saying andthe fucking crocswere almost at the table. Harry might not be the Core Four’s and the King’s biggest fan, but he wouldn’t wish, not even to his worst enemies, the excruciating pain that being bit by a croc caused._____________________________________________________________Harry Hook was called insane many times, usually by his enemies when they were at the end of his hook, and it had nothing to do with the voices he heard in his head.The hallucinations were a secret only the crew knew about, but now, studying in Auradon Prep, keeping that secret may be harder than they thought.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heey! This is my first Descendants fic but this idea woudn't leave me. It'd not beta'd so any mistakes are mine. I have a headcanon that all the Descendants movies have at least 1 year gap between them so in d3 they are not in school anymore (apparently not everyone agrees with it), but anyway, in this fic they are all still in Auradon Prep, so the movies have a gap of only a few months between each other. Also I haven't read the books yet so I used only the canon of the movies.

_Uma and Gil say that there are three stages._

_Personally, Harry hated the second one the most._

_Uma, Gil, and the crew hated all three._

See, the thing is, it’s not like Harry hated Auradon. It’s just that Auradon hated _him_. Or that’s what he tells Uma.

Fairy Godmother didn’t like the idea of any student walking around carrying weapons, so his hook was the first one to go. The first few weeks Harry felt like he had lost a limb. Now he understood what his father used to blab about, every time he drank too much to care that he was showing weakness. Without his hook, how was he supposed to make his enemies quiver with fear? _You don’t _said Fairy Godmother after a little pause, without losing her smile. _With your face _murmured Carlos De Vil, earning a laugh from Jay and a slap on the arm from Evie.

Then they got rid of his clothes. Fairy Godmother said he would get new ones, new ones that were whole, new ones that didn’t smell like fish or dirt or blood. But he had made that coat from parts of the one his father used to wear when he was in his glory days. Gil had patched that coat every time it got a tear made by a sword or a hook. His shirt was wrecked but nothing could compare to the sensation of the sea wind hitting his skin. The hat he had stolen with Uma when they were kids and were starting to make plans of forming a pirate crew.

He didn’t miss the drinking (Fairy Godmother said they actually couldn’t legally drink yet, much less on school grounds), or the terrible food from Ursula’s. But, God, he missed spending time with his crew and singing on the restaurant or the Lost Revenge late at night.

So, Auradon hated him because it simply didn’t want him to be _him._

Uma was getting more involved in the politics of Auradon and the Isle, and Harry could see her shining more and more. Her fierce smile was now full of hope and determination and day by day she needed him to assure her less and less, and every time she started rambling about her new ideas, how her and Evie were getting to consensus on how to better adapt the kids from the Isle, Harry couldn’t stop himself from smiling with her.

Gil was spending more time with Jay and both had half of their trip around the world planned. Every day they would spend hours sitting on the grass just talking about the things they were going to see. Jay would show Gil new things and Gil would share them with the whole crew and they would spend days obsessed with the thing until Gil brought a new one to them. Right now they were stuck on _pizza,_ probably they would spend a long time on it since it had infinite flavors.

The rest of the crew all had found friends and clubs and classes they loved.

They said that word now, _love_. Apparently, in Auradon it was good and healthy to find things you love and talk about it. Strange land.

In the end, it didn’t matter if Auradon hated Harry or not, because it didn’t hate his crew or his captain.

“So Mal said that we should see if we can get a date to talk to every Isle kid and I said, ‘honey, two years in Auradon and you didn’t learn how to count, there are too many kids to talk all at once’. She glared at me and I felt a little better for complimenting her last week, now I’m even.” Uma said putting books on her locker.

“You should talk to them on the Remedial Goodness class, it’s where everyone is at the same time” Gil said absently while staring at his bag of chips like it was the most mysterious thing he had ever seen. Harry and Uma stared silently at him for a few seconds before Uma nodded, thinking deeply.

“You are right, they divided the class in two because of the big number of people, but it’s the best we can get.”

tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc

Harry put his finger in his ear absentmindedly, like he was trying to get something out of it.

“I don’t think the other kids will mind losing some hours of class if you want to just call them out and talk to them in the auditorium.” Harry said looking at his nails to see if he got any blood on it from picking too much at his ear.

“Also true, but Fairy Godmother doesn’t think we should lose classes for…_any_ reason.” The captain said not hiding her distaste with the women.

tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc

“Not even if it’s to spread the goodness around?” Harry asked while frowning and shaking his head a little. Uma scoffed.

“The goodness it’s only good enough if it’s her doing the spreading. Plus she…”

TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC

TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC

TIC TOC TIC TOC HARRY TIC TOC TIC TOC HARRY

TIC TOC HARRY TIC TOC TIC TOC HARRY

“Harry” Uma said using her ‘captain voice’ while snapping her fingers on Harry’s face.

“What?” Her first mate asked with a blank face.

“Where’s your head at?” She demanded crossing her arms showing she wasn’t moving until he answered.

“Just thinking about what you said. Fairy Godmother really thinks we shouldn’t skip class to talk about bullying?” Harry managed to think of an excuse and even used the new word Uma taught them after her last meeting with the royals and the school board. It was the right thing to say because Uma started to walk in the direction of their next class while ranting about how the Fairy Godmother thought only state emergences were excuse to skip class.

Tic toc tic toc tic toc

Harry walked by her side trying to hear more than a few words out of her mouth. When they arrived at their class, Harry noticed he hadn’t taken any of his books to the class.

_Harry told Gil his secret when they were just little kids._

_They both were hiding underneath one of the empty tables in the marketplace. Gaston’s screams could be heard from half the Isle._

_At the time Uma used to walk around with Mal, and Gil was the only one that had the courage to talk with Harry. The kids of the Isle could be rebels but when their parents told them to not walk with “Hook’s nut job of a son”, they listened. Gil wasn’t sure he understood the warning, since in all the time he had been talking with Harry he had never seen a single nut in his possession, so maybe that was just another mean thing their parents said._

_As Gaston’s screams got louder so did Gil’s sobs. He knew he shouldn’t be crying in front of anyone, but he was really scared. Harry put his hand in his mouth trying to muffle his sobs and put his finger on his mouth, making a small shushing sound. The blonde boy held his breath for a few seconds trying to keep himself quiet, focusing on Harry’s uncanny blue eyes._

_The pirate’s son only took his hand off the other’s mouth when the screams had stopped and he was sure that Gaston had distracted himself with a mirror or something. Gil had stopped crying but his hands wouldn’t stop shaking, so Harry tried to avoid looking directly at him, to keep a little sense of privacy._

_Neither kid was ready to leave their safe place._

_Gil knew that running from his father meant that he had to make himself scarce for a few days until he forgot what he was mad about in the first place, so that meant he had to spend a few nights sleeping on the alleys. He probably would choose one near the coast so he could see Harry. He was getting calmer just thinking about it._

_“I hear things.” Harry simply blurted out. It felt unfair to see something as vulnerable as Gil crying and not offer anything in exchange. His father may not have taught him many things, but he did talk about Good Form, so he decided to share his only secret._

_“Everyone does.” Gil commented, a little confused._

_“I hear things that are not there.” Harry said, his voice getting quieter with every word. He couldn’t look at the other boy, not wanting to know what he would say._

_“Like what?” Gil asked in the same low tone as Harry._

_“Sometimes...my father locks me up on the closet where he keeps the clocks he sells” He was whispering now but he didn’t think he could speak louder, and deep down he wished Gil wouldn't be able to hear him. He was already regretting his decision of speaking, but he couldn’t seem to stop talking. “And even when he lets me out…I still hear it sometimes…the clocks…” Harry hugged his knees wishing he could disappear._

_“Have you tried putting stuff in your ears?”_

_“What?” Harry asked looking up in surprise. Gil was whispering too, and he looked deep in thought._

_“Sometimes, when my father screams too much, I put my fingers in my ears like this…” The boy put one finger in each ear. “and the sounds get lower.” He finished talking, louder than before. Harry smiled despite himself._

_“Sounds like a good idea” Gil’s smile was worth it._

_Three weeks later, Gil found Harry sitting on a dark alley, hugging his knees and rocking himself a little. The blue-eyed boy was murmuring to himself, and when Gil knelt in front of him he could hear what he was saying._

_“Shut up…shut up…shut up…shut up…shut up…” Without thinking twice, the Gaston’s son put his hands on the other’s ears._

_Not having heard the other getting closer, Harry looked up, surprised. Gil didn’t move his hands, keeping the cover on the other’s ears. His face was one of pure concentration as if his life depended on keeping his hands in place._

_It was Harry’s turn to sob because not even Gil’s strong hands could keep the tic toc at bay._

“Harry!”

The pirate stopped his way to the dining hall and turned to see Jane running to reach him.

“Well well well…if it isn’t the little duckling.” Harry said grinning and stepping closer to her. In response, the fairy’s daughter simply rolled her eyes and smiled a little.

“Shut up and listen.” Harry remembered how she used to get all red and nervous to talk to him in the beginning, but now, she was used to his flirting and knew he didn’t mean a thing with it. “My mom wants to know why you are not going to all of your classes, she said you would know which ones she is talking about, and why you are avoiding her.” Now it was Harry’s turn to roll his eyes.

The first mate wasn’t going to all of his Remedial Goodness classes nor a single one of his Math classes. And, of course, he didn’t waste his time showing up to his appointments to the therapist that all of the Isle Kids were forced to go.

“Tell ya mother that I am trying to adapt to this whole new world” Harry said, making himself sound so sad that it couldn’t be confused with anything but mockery, his accent getting stronger the more he talked. “And that I learned from her that I shouldn’t go after evry’ good lookin’ face I found meself attracted to.” He finished throwing a wink her way and leaving her and her laughter behind to go to the dining hall.

The dining hall was packed as usual, and Harry went directly to the table where his crew was sitting.

“And apparently if you choose with pineapple or without pineapple it says a lot about your personality.” Gil finished talking and all of the crew members made an “oh” in understatement.

“We have to try it next!” Jonas said which made all of others laugh in agreement.

Harry pushed Bonny to the side and sat on Gil’s side directly in front of Uma.

“Apparently pineapple on the pizza is a thing.” Uma said to Harry, letting him know what they were talking about.

“Everything on pizza seems like a good idea.” Harry said earning a few laughs. Uma made a face of disgust which only made Harry laugh harder. Distracted, the boy looked to the side and saw Mal, Carlos, Evie and Jay sitting with the beasty King on the table that was on the other corner of the dining hall, by the garden.

“We should continue the repairs on the Lost Revenge on the weekend.” Uma said, bringing Harry back to their conversation.

“I can’t. I have fencing training on the weekend” Bonny said with an apology written on her face. If they were still on the Isle, Uma would have repeated her suggestion with a voice that left no room for doubt that it wasn’t really a suggestion, and Harry would have put his arm on Bonny shoulders, making sure that his hook touched her neck.

If they were still on the Isle none of the crew members would have thought of making other plans that didn’t involve each other.

They weren’t in the Isle anymore.

Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc

“Oh, then you can go next week.” Uma said without thinking twice. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw unusual movement near the Core Four table. Turning to look, the pirate saw nothing out of the ordinary so he looked at Uma again. “The ones that can go, should go. I think we are going to be able to sail her by the end of the year.”

Harry heard a few agreements and looked down noticing that he hadn’t taken anything to eat.

Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc

Without thinking much of it, he took a few fries from Gil’s plate, who frowned when he noticed the theft.

“You should ask the King if we can bring her to the Auradon’s docks,” Harry said interrupting any comments Gil was about to make, but, by the time he finished talking, he wasn’t paying attention anymore, since he saw movement on the Core Four’s table again.

To his shock, he saw three enormous crocs walking on the lawn in the direction of the VK’s table. Harry looked confused at the other tables, asking himself why no one was saying anything about it.

Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc

“What do you think Harry?” The pirate was brought back to the conversation at the table by his captain’s voice.

“What?” He asked weakly. Uma frowned at him and exchanged looks with Gil, which Harry failed to see because he was looking at the crocs again. They were getting closer and appeared to be salivating at the sight of the table full of people.

TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC

“Harry!” Uma said loudly, making everyone at the table look at her and her first mate, yet what made Harry turn back to her was Gil’s hand, suddenly on his shoulder making him jump a little, startled.

“What?” He asked again. Why weren’t they worried about the starving animals going in the direction of the King?

TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC

“What’s wrong?” She asked trying to not let her worry color her voice.

TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC

“What?” Harry felt like a broken record but he couldn’t really listen to what she was saying and_ the fucking_ crocs were almost at the table. Harry might not be the Core Four’s and the King’s biggest fan, but he wouldn’t wish, not even to his worst enemies, the excruciating pain that being bit by a croc caused.

Not that he was ever bitten, but his father used to talk hours about how getting his hand cut off had felt like and how being directly bit would probably feel worse. Then he would spend even more hours showing Harry how much pain a person could feel, and say that it wasn’t even close to what being fed to the crocodiles would feel like.

He couldn’t look away from the other table anymore, _seriously, these people's precious King was about to be eaten and none of them could bother to SAY A DAMN THING!?_

TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC

When one the crocs finally made it to the table and opened its mouth to take the King’s leg off, Harry couldn’t take anymore.

“WATCH OUT!” The pirate screamed, standing up. Every single person in the dining hall looked his way but he couldn’t stop watching in horror as the croc took Ben’s leg off with a splash of blood and a terrible scream. One of the other crocodiles started fighting the first one for the leg while the third one went for the other leg.

He wasn’t able to see if the croc had managed to take the other leg because suddenly, there was a body in front of him. Focusing on it, Harry noticed that it wasn’t just one, but actually the whole crew creating a barrier between him and the rest of the dining hall. Before he could analyze it further, a small hand pushed his arm making him turn around, and suddenly he was face to face with his captain.

“Harry.” She said calmly, not letting her panic show on her voice. “You have to calm down”

“But-but…” Harry said weakly, stuttering. Harry Hook didn’t stutter, but he didn’t shake nor sweat of nervousness either, and here he was doing all of it. “The King is-…” Harry couldn’t finish since he found a spot between the heads of his crewmates and could see the other table again.

There was too much blood. Two of the crocs were now attacking Evie, and Harry couldn’t understand why no one was trying to help her. Couldn't they hear the screams? Couldn’t they see the blood? _Couldn’t they hear the goddamn clocks?_

TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC

“Harry!” Uma said louder, now holding his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. “There’s nothing there, okay? Nothing. Just a bunch of princes and princesses.” Harry shook his head lightly and tried to turn and look at the bloodbath again, but Uma held his face firmly. “There’s nothing there, Harry. You are safe, they are safe.” Suddenly the captain looked around and released his face just to hold his hand firmly. “We have to get out of here” She said quietly and started pulling him with her in the direction of the exit.

Harry tried to resist but she held firmly and Gil walked closely behind them, blocking any attempt to break free. Before they got out of the dining hall, Harry could take one last look at the table on the other side. There was blood everywhere, only pieces of the Core Four’s and Ben’s clothes had been left. The three crocs had stopped their search for any remains and made eye contact with Harry.

TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC HARRY TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC HARRY TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC HARRY TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC HARRY TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC HARRY TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC

Auradon really hated him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Harry…” Uma said, softly. Nothing about the pirate captain was soft, but when dealing with her friends, when dealing with Harry, she couldn’t help but be a softer version of herself. Uma grabbed his hands and he stopped his movements but didn’t relax, she could feel him shaking with the effort to not move. “Nothing happened. There was nothing dangerous there. There is nothing dangerous here. You are safe, we are safe.” Before she had even finished speaking Harry was already shaking his head and pushing his hands back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey Update! I will try to update in a week max! Hope you enjoy the chapter!!

_Uma was proud of many things. _

_Her ship._

_Her crew. _

_Her first mate. _

_Her powers. _

_Her abilities with the sword._

_Her capacity to not let panic take over on difficult situations. _

_Still, seeing her first mate lose all touch with reality was something that never failed to chill her to the bone._

_The first time Uma saw Harry react to things that weren’t real, she was just a kid and had just started to walk around with him and Gil. At the time she wasn’t willing to trust any of them, since last time she trusted anyone, she had ended up with a bucket of shrimp on her head and a smell she swore she couldn’t wash off._

_But walking around with the two boys was doing wonders to her street cred. _

_Gil was the strongest of their age and even if he wasn’t the smartest, he was loyal. _

_Harry was probably the most terrifying kid on the Isle, not even Mal and her new “friends” went head to head with him alone. His crazy smile was always present on his face, and after a big fight between Uma and Mal, which she lost, he gave her a piece of advice she remembered for the rest of her life._

_“You frown too much.” He said between laughs. “Nothing scares more than someone who looks like they are having the time of their lives with everything they are doing. Above all, if they are losing the fight” He pointed at his smile and she finally understood._

_ Next time she butted heads with Mal, she started laughing after the purple-haired girl had punched her in the nose, making blood run down her face. She had never seen Mal look so terrified. _

_Excited because of her win, Uma didn’t even stop to clean her nose, she went running directly to tell Harry._

_She found him and Gil below the docks, even if no one ever went there because of the strong fish smell, Harry always said that he liked to feel so close to the sea. _

_Before she could make her presence known, she heard Harry’s voice like she had never heard before._

_“He-he is Gil! Can’t you see!? He is going to kill us! We have to go NOW” Uma was confused so she hid herself in case any danger was imminent, nevertheless, she chose a position that gave her a good view of the two boys. _

_When she could get a good look at them she got even more confused. Harry was gesticulating with his hook and Gil was in front of him holding the arm that wasn’t holding the weapon._

_“Harry, there’s no one there! Your father went fishing remember? You told me this morning.” Gil’s voice was almost as desperate as Harry’s._

_“HE IS THERE!” Harry screamed, making Uma worry someone was going to hear the commotion and decide to check what was going on. Gil seemed to have the same worry because he put his hand on the other boy's mouth which only made Harry move more._

_“He isn’t, Harry. He really isn’t” With a start Uma noticed that Gil had started to cry. Harry stopped moving but he was still breathing hard like he had run a marathon. He looked between the empty sea and his friend for a few seconds and Gil took his hand out of his mouth, though didn’t let go of his arm. Uma couldn’t take her eyes off Harry, he looked lost._

_“He…he isn’t?” The blue-eyed boy asked with a voice so low that she almost didn’t hear it. Gil couldn’t talk because of his sobs, but he shook his head. Slowly, Gil hugged his friend, almost like he was afraid to break him. Harry didn’t hug back, he still looked lost and couldn’t seem to look away from a certain point on the sea. _

_Uma stayed hidden, hearing Gil’ sobs and seeing Harry not moving a single muscle until it got too dark and she noticed she was late for her shift at her mother’s restaurant. She looked down and saw that there was blood on her shirt, yet, strangely, along with the blood, there was also water on her face._

Uma should have noticed that there was something wrong with Harry when he was spacing out earlier that day. She knew the signs. She knew that when he started to space out it was because the _noises_ were getting too loud to focus on anything else.

But she didn’t.

When Harry couldn’t take his eyes off the Core Four’s table was when she actually noticed something was wrong.

“What do you think Harry?” She asked even if she wasn’t talking about anything that required his opinion.

“What?” Harry asked weakly. Uma frowned at him and looked at Gil, who was also frowning and looking worriedly at her and their friend.

When Uma looked at Harry again she noticed that he was looking at the other’s table again, still frowning, she looked the same way. The VK’s were talking and Ben was smiling like a fool while looking at Mal. _Typical._

The captain looked at her first mate and saw a look of pure horror on his face.

“Harry.” She tried but the other didn’t give any indication of having heard her. “Harry!” She said louder, not caring that everyone on the table stopped talking and turned to look at them. Still, the pirate didn’t turn and only reacted when Gil touched his shoulder.

“What?” He asked with a low voice, looking between her and the other table.

“What’s wrong?” Uma asked trying to not let her worry color her voice. She had a foolish hope that her friend was only distracted.

“What?” He asked again, looking genuinely confused with her attention on him. It seemed to cost him greatly to look away from the other table, even for a few seconds.

“Talk to me. What’s wrong?” She asked trying to keep a low voice to not attract the attention of the other people in the dining hall, however, Harry didn’t look at her again. He was shaking slightly and there was sweat forming on his forehead. She was about to say his name again when, suddenly, he got up.

“WATCH OUT!” Harry screamed, seemingly ready to run in the direction of the other table. Her crew didn’t think twice, almost as fast as Harry had gotten up, they were standing up forming a barrier between him, and the shock filled and curious eyes of the other students. Every member of the crew was turned outward, probably making intimidating faces to dissuade the people from getting closer.

Uma was the last to stand up, she put her hand on Harry’s arm making him turn from whatever he was seeing and look at her.

“Harry.” She said calmly, not letting her panic show on her voice. “You have to calm down.”

“But-but…” Harry said weakly, stuttering, and Uma’s heart broke. _She hated this._ “The King is…” He started but didn’t finish, appearing to be distracted by the other table again. His face was filled with even more horror than before.

Uma didn’t like that look. It made her remember too many times with blood and tears and screams on the Isle. It made her remember too many days watching her crewmates hold Harry down so he wouldn’t hurt anybody. It made her remember too many nights holding him so he wouldn’t hurt himself.

The captain took his face in her hands, not letting him look at anything but her.

“Harry! There’s nothing there, okay? Nothing. Just a bunch of princes and princesses” Harry shook his head lightly and tried to look away again but she held him firmly. “There’s nothing there, Harry. You are safe, they are safe.” Suddenly, Uma heard a commotion on the other side of the human barrier her crewmates had made between them and the rest of the world.

“I just want to know if everything is okay…” She heard Ben’s voice say, a little exasperated. The King was being blocked by the pirates but Uma knew he wouldn’t give up easily. A quick look around showed that Ben wasn’t the only one trying to take a closer look, the whole hall was up and taking slow steps in their direction. Apparently, the intimidating looks were less effective on the Auradon people since they seemed to be unable to care about _their own fucking lives_.

“We have to get out of here.” Uma said quietly to herself. She let go of Harry’s face and held his hand firmly. After a quick look at Gil’s direction, silently ordering his help, she took off in the direction of the exit. She heard, faintly, voices calling her but she knew her friends were going to block any attempt at following.

Uma didn’t stop walking until she reached Harry’s room, thanking the Heavens and the Sea that they didn’t meet anyone on the way. Harry was the only one of them that didn’t have a roommate, and Uma couldn’t be gladder. Not that Uma hated her roommate, Audrey was a nice girl after you got over the whole cursing the kingdom business, and, after all, who was she to judge? Still, it was nice and made her calmer when she and Gil met up with Harry in his room, only the three of them, just like old times.

But she wasn’t calm when she entered his room this time, forcing him to walk in front of her. After making sure he was inside, she looked behind her and glanced at Gil. His eyes were watering and she could see the tension on his jaw. It hit him hard every time. When he finally took his eyes off Harry, who was pacing in the room, he looked at her.

Uma nodded slightly at him, knowing he wouldn’t let himself leave if he wasn’t sure someone would take care of his friend, Gil nodded back and closed the door on his way out. With a sigh, Uma turned to her first mate. Before she could say anything, he turned to her and started rambling.

“We have to do somethin’, captain. We can’t just leave them there. They are going to get them all, we have to help them. What if they go after the others, they are going to kill them. They are going to kill them all, captain. The blood-… the blood is going to be everywhere, you know Ursula hates when you let the blood fall on everything. We have to-… we have to leave and-…” He rambled, seemingly more and more desperate with every word. He was gesticulating wildly and his eyes never stayed in one place for too long.

“Harry…” Uma said, softly. Nothing about the pirate captain was soft, but when dealing with her friends, when dealing with _Harry_, she couldn’t help but be a softer version of herself. Uma grabbed his hands and he stopped his movements but didn’t relax, she could feel him shaking with the effort to not move. “Nothing happened. There was nothing dangerous there. There is nothing dangerous here. You are safe, we are safe.” Before she had even finished speaking Harry was already shaking his head and pushing his hands back.

“No…no…you didn’t look…you didn’t look at them…the-they tore them apart, they took their limbs off…we have to go…get-get Gil, get the crew, we have to hide in the Lost Revenge…” He kept on rambling. Uma raised her hands in an appealing manner but it got the opposite reaction. “NO!” He screamed, closing his eyes firmly. “WE CAN’T STAY HERE, IT’S GONNA GET US KILLED!” Harry shouted and finally stopped moving. He was still tense and breathing hard, but at least his eyes were now focusing on her.

“Harry, listen to me…” Uma said trying her best to use what the boy called her ‘captain voice’. “There is no danger. Everyone here is safe. I need you to tell me what you saw.” Before Harry could start to shake his head again, the girl spoke again. “No, Harry. You have to tell me what you saw.” She finished, walking slowly closer to him.

“The-the crocs…t-they killed Ben…” He started, stammering and with a faraway look on his eyes. “They took his leg off…the-then they got to Evie…and she screamed…” suddenly his face crumbled and he put his hands on his ears.

“No, no, Harry.” Uma said finally closing the space between them, putting her hands on top of his. “There is no noise, no scream, nothing.” Harry didn’t appear to be able to listen to her, he had his eyes firmly closed and he was mumbling something unintelligible. Uma closed her eyes too, and touched his forehead with hers. Then, she started to hum. It was a song they used to sing together, well, she used to sing and he used to play on the piano, on the rare nights they were alone in her mother’s restaurant at night. Instead of going to the Lost Revenge, they sometimes liked the peace that being alone with each other caused.

When Harry´s breathing started to get back to normal, Uma opened her eyes slowly and saw that the boy was already looking at her. She recognized his look, it was the same one she had seen on his eyes all those years ago, under the docks.

“They are going to kill you…” He whispered miserably and Uma held back a sob.

“There are no crocodiles here, Harry. Ben and Evie are okay. We are okay. You are going to be okay.” She whispered back, moving her hands to the back of his head, petting his head slowly.

“They are here, Uma. I saw the-… I saw the blood. I heard the screams.” He said keeping the low tone. Slowly, Harry took his hands off his ears and instead held the sides of Uma’s shirt, as if she was the only thing keeping him there.

Reluctantly, Uma took one of her hands off his hair and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Moving as little as she could, she sent a quick text to the group chat with all her crew members.

Not even two seconds later, her phone started to buzz. Not looking, she clicked on one of the photos she received and showed it to her first mate. The photo, even if a little blurry, showed the Core Four and Ben talking on the dining hall of Auradon Prep.

“See,” The captain said. “They are fine.” Uma saw Harry look at the photo like he didn’t believe his own eyes, he raised one hand and swiped to the left on her phone, probably to see another. Uma let him take his time until he looked down and gave a small step back. The captain didn’t let him get very far, still petting his head with one hand and putting her phone away with the other.

“They…they were dead…I-I saw it…the blood…” Harry said softly, his eyes were jumping from one place of the floor to the other and Uma could see him getting worked up again.

“Harry…relax…it’s okay.” She murmured back, closing the distance between them again. He looked at her like he had forgotten she was there. After a few seconds of staring at each other, she saw his eyes start to water and hers followed soon after.

“They…the crocs…are not real, are they?” He whispered brokenly. Uma let out a sigh mixed with a sob, not knowing if she should be happy or more miserable.

“No, they aren’t.” She said. Harry took an uneven breath and walked back another step, reaching the corner of the room, suddenly, it was like he had lost all strength and leaned back on the wall. Before he could bury his head in his hands, Uma took his face in _her_ hands like she had done before in the dining hall.

“Hey…it’s okay.” She said even if nothing was okay. She tried her hardest to smile and hoped she didn’t have any tears on her face. “It’s okay.”

Harry looked at her and his eyes got sadder. He raised his hand gently and touched her face, cleaning a stray tear, unconsciously, she leaned on his hand for a few seconds, then she took his hand in hers and directed him to the bed.

Uma pushed the covers to the side and gently made him sit. She unzipped his leather jacket and tossed it on the floor, afterward she lightly pushed his shoulder, making him lay down, and he went without resistance. When she tried to take a step back, she noticed that even lying down, he hadn’t let go of her shirt. Slowly, she removed his hand and, after a reassuring smile, took her own jacket off. Without thinking twice, Uma also took her leather pants and brat off.

She climbed on the bed after her first mate and hugged him, he put his head in her chest and hugged her tightly. The captain put one hand on his back and the other on his hair.

It was a familiar position in a familiar situation, but it didn’t matter how many times it happened, how many times she had to calm him down so he wouldn’t hurt anybody, how many times she had to make sure he slept because she knew he wouldn’t be able to after, she still wished they could lay in bed together simply because they wanted to.

_Uma and Gil say that there are three stages._

_In the first stage, Harry doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not. _

_The sounds are more usual, Harry says he hears the clock as a background sound almost every day. Sometimes louder, sometimes he hears his name whispered in between, but always easy to ignore after years of practice. For him, the real problems are the hallucinations._

_In the beginning, it always is something that, in some way, put them in danger. Crocodiles eating their friends, his father appearing asking for explanations for anything, and, in a weird sense, it makes sense._

_But if the boy started to want to fight back these unreal threats, he could end up hurting someone. Uma had a scar on her arm made by his hook from when Harry was sure his father had gone to the Lost Revenge to take him away. Gil had one on his left eyebrow from when Harry was sure there was a storm coming and they had to hide their food._

_Every time, he gets more and more agitated the longer it takes to someone to do something, that’s when he started to not make sense anymore. His hallucination seemed to mix with other fears and other situations, he started talking about people that are no longer there or connecting two things that didn’t have a connection._

_ It always takes time for him to understand that what he is seeing isn’t real, and it always breaks them to see his face when he notices that he was seeing things again._

_Harry says that he doesn’t remember much what happened after everything has passed. He says he remembers just pieces and blurs._

_He lies._

_He doesn’t want to answer any questions about it, so it’s easier this way. He feels like a fool every time he believes in something that isn’t real._

_Harry thinks that in the end, it will be this that will make him go insane, the sensation that he can’t trust anything._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think!! Do you like the flashbacks? Do you like the pace I am setting? Do you like the story?? What do you want to happen next? What do you think will happen next?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They never talked about it, Harry shut down any try at a conversation about the subject and the whole crew decided to avoid it altogether, but in the end, all of them had the same fear. Just like Harry's hallucinations, it was always in the background, most of the time easy to ignore, and yet, from time to time the fear gets stronger.  
The fear that one day, Harry won't be able to tell what is real and what isn’t, and no one, not even Uma or Gil, will be able to bring him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heey, update!

Worry was, by now, Ben's last name. He was worried that he wouldn't be a good King. He was worried that he wasn't going to be a good husband. He was worried he wouldn't be able to graduate. He was worried about the adaptation of the new VK's. He was worried about the _darn _food being served in the dining hall.

He was _really _worried about everything.

But something that never failed to make him feel better was talking with Mal, even being with her was enough. She understood him because she was also worried. She was worried she wouldn't be a good Queen. She was worried she wouldn't be able to graduate. She was worried about the adaptation of the new VK's. He didn't think she was too worried about the food, but she was _definitely_ worried about the chemistry test in the next period.

"You don't understand Evie! I really _really_ don't know how to do this!" She said, throwing her hands in the air.

"First you have to calm down," Evie said graciously while putting the fish and the fries in her plate to the side. _Ben knew that fish and fries were a terrible idea_. "you can't do the exercises if you freak out."

"I am not freaking out." Mal said, just to be stubborn, and earned herself a fond smile from Ben, and a scoff from Jay and Carlos. "I am not!" She said indignantly. "I am just…worried." Now it was Ben's turn to scoff and, at her questioning look, just shook his head lightly. With a sigh, Mal turned to her plate again. "Fairy Godmother is being irrational again."

"What happened?" Carlos asked while making sure Dude didn't steal the fries from his plate.

"She doesn't think talking to the Isle Kids about bullying is a good enough reason to skip class." Mal answered crossing her arms.

"She said we have to talk to every kid in our free time" Evie completed.

"But there's too many kids, it's impossible to get everyone to be available at the same time." Mal finished with a deep sigh.

"Do it online." Carlos suggested, at his friend’s questioning frowns, he explained. "Just record it and put it online. Then every kid can watch when they can."

"And how we make sure all of the kids will see it?" Jay asked, ruining their hopes. Mal sighed again and put her head on the table.

"In the end, we are stuck hoping that more than eighty kids have the same free time and are willing to spend it in a lecture about something they don't even know is a thing to be worried about." She raised her head and leaned back on her chair, crossing her arms. "And I am stuck with a chemistry test I am definitely not prepared to."

Ben opened his mouth to try and calm her when, suddenly, they heard a scream.

"WATCH OUT!" Startled, all of them turned to the source of the noise. Ben found himself looking at Harry Hook, who was looking directly at him, his hand outstretched as if he could touch him from the other side of the hall, his eyes big as plates, but, before Ben could analyze it further, all of the members of Uma's pirate crew were in front of Harry, blocking their view of him.

"What the hell?" Jay asked putting one hand on Carlos' shoulder, who had gotten up startled.

"I don't know" Mal said while getting up too. All of them stared at the crew in hopes to see what was going on.

"I will check." Ben said but the four followed him anyway. Getting close, Ben could hear Uma talking quietly, yet he couldn't make out what she was saying. When he was only a few steps away from them, all of the crew members turned their bad-tempered faces to him. For a second Ben remembered that he was held hostage by them once.

"Excuse me, is everything okay?" Ben asked after he stopped right in front of them.

"Back off, King!" One of the members, Jonas, snarled at him before pushing him back. Ben felt Jay's hands on his back, holding him so he wouldn't fall, and, after he was stable, went in direction of Jonas.

"Careful there." Jafar's son said, intimidatingly. Before they could start a fight, Ben got between them,

"I just want to know if everything is okay…" He said calmly. "Harry seemed…" The King felt at loss of words then, he wouldn't say that the other was scared because it seemed deeper than that. But Ben knew Harry, he was kidnapped by him, _nothing_ scared the pirate. In the end, he didn't have to think of a word, since he noticed movement behind the pirates and when he looked, he saw Uma going in the direction of the exit taking Harry with her by the hand, and Gil following closely behind.

Mal and Evie called her name but she didn't stop, Ben, however, looked at Harry. The other was staring at something behind them before he disappeared through the exit. Frowning, Ben looked at the direction Harry had been looking at but saw only the table he and the others were sitting, now empty.

When he turned back all of Uma's crew had gone back to their table as if nothing had happened, but anyone could notice that there was tension on the air.

"What just happened?" Carlos asked after a few seconds of them just standing where they were.

"I have no idea." Mal answered

"Do you think everything is okay?" Evie asked hesitantly.

"I don't know. I mean…" Ben said slowly. "We could ask Uma."

"And you think she will answer?" Mal said with a raised eyebrow, not even trying to hide her disbelief.

"We can try," Ben answered, looking at Evie, knowing she would be the one to support him. "Maybe he's sick and they don't want to ask for help." Evie seemed to jump on the suggestion and nodded at him. By their side, Jay scoffed.

"Can you imagine it? Harry, sick." He finished with a little laugh. Carlos and Mal joined in and laughed softly, Evie just smiled a little and shook her head.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked, frowning. "He is a person, after all."

"It's just that, in all the time we have known Harry he was always just…laughing maniacally at life and following Uma around." Carlos said, getting nods from the others.

"But he does have a life outside of Uma, right?" Ben said and found himself at the end of four frowns. "I mean, Uma has been going to all those meetings as advisor on all-things-Isle and they have what? Two classes together, max." Ben finished which only made the others frown even more. "He's…not on the fencing team or the tourney?" Ben asked, confused. Jay and Carlos shook their heads. Ben opened his mouth to ask more when, from the corner of his eye he got the impression that, suddenly, all of Uma's crewmates had their phones out and pointed at them.

"He's not on any club I am in," Jay said, to which Carlos nodded. Ben shook his head lightly, focusing back on the conversation, and looked at the two girls who signaled in negative too.

"Have we ever seen Harry talk to anyone that wasn't a member of Uma's crew?" Evie asked, looking at her friend's faces. Before anyone could answer Mal let out a little scream that would have her past-self dying of shame.

"OH MY GOD! MY TEST!" She said and barely said goodbye to them before rushing out of the dining hall. Startled, Ben looked at his wristwatch and noticed that, in the middle of all the commotion, they had lost the bell.

The other three excused themselves and left too, leaving Ben behind with his thoughts.

Uma woke up at the end of the afternoon because of her growling stomach. She remembered she hadn't really eaten at lunch and now her stomach was starting to act up. Before the barrier had been brought down she was used to skipping meals or even go a few days without eating, but now she could barely stand to skip one meal. It really was easier to get used to good things.

A small movement made her look down to her friend, Harry was still sleeping and holding her firmly. Uma petted his hair a little and noticed that he was frowning in his sleep. _Nightmares. Seriously, couldn't his mind give him a break._ She was shocked he had fallen asleep at all so, in the end, she counted it a win.

Hesitantly, the captain took his arms off her torso. He didn't react in any way to her moving and for a second Uma was even more reluctant to leave, but she had to get them food while the dining hall was still open. To save as much time as she could, Uma took one of Harry's few PJ's pants and rolled up the hems so it wouldn't get on her way, she also put on one of his sweatshirts that he almost didn't use. With one last look at the boy on the bed, she left the room, closing the door softly.

Outside she let out a sigh and grabbed her phone. There were no new messages and she didn't expect any. Every time this happened her crew gave Harry all the space he needed, that didn't mean they didn't worry since every time she looked they were with their spirits down and an unmoving tension on their shoulders.

They never talked about it, Harry shut down any try at a conversation about the subject and the whole crew decided to avoid it altogether, but in the end, all of them had the same fear. Just like Harry's hallucinations, it was always in the background, most of the time easy to ignore, and yet, from time to time the fear gets stronger.

The fear that one day, Harry won't be able to tell what is real and what isn’t, and no one, not even Uma or Gil, will be able to bring him back.

Uma let out another sigh and walked to the dining hall. Knowing no one would be in the dormitory halls at this time, she let herself show her vulnerability by hugging herself and looking down.

"Uma!" The girl jumped a little, startled, and looked up at the voice that had called her. On the other side of the hall, going the opposite direction, were Ben and Evie. Uma quickly changed her stance, crossing her arms and doing her best unimpressed-face. " We were looking for you but you weren't in your room and Audrey said she hadn't seen you since lunch" Ben said when they reached her.

"What is it?" Uma asked even if she had an idea of what the King and the princess wanted to ask.

"Is everything okay?" Ben asked.

"Yes." The captain said, offering nothing more.

"We are just worried…" Evie said, wavering. "About Harry."

"There's nothing wrong, he's fine." She answered, not changing her face.

"He looked…" Ben hesitated "Scared." He finished in a small voice. Uma inhaled, shocked at the fact that the King had managed to see it from the other side of the dining hall but quickly recovered and managed to shrug.

"I don't know what you are talking about. He's fine." She said and before they could ask more, she continued. "It was just a prank, he wanted to scare you and, apparently, he managed it." Uma finished and was already trying to walk around the two so she could get her food, but before she could leave, Ben put his hand in front of her, blocking her escape. The pirate slowly looked at the hand and his face, she raised her eyebrow hoping to get the message across that if he didn't take his hand off her way she would do it for him. The King gulped awkwardly and lowered his hand.

"We are just worried. Neither of you went to your classes after what happened at the dining hall." He said quietly. Uma didn't hesitate before answering.

"We were fucking" She said matter-of-factly, Ben's face suddenly got redder than the bright tomatoes they have here in Auradon. Evie frowned a little but after taking a look at Uma's clothes she smiled way too softly to Uma's taste.

"Congratulations. I didn't know you two were together" She said and Uma tried her best to not fidget, with a little nod their way, she left.

_“NO! STOP!” Uma heard the screams before she even reached the Lost Revenge, going faster, she reached the ship in no time. To her horror what she saw when she got there was a usual sight for her and Gil, but not so much to her crew._

_Harry had his back against the mast of the ship, he had his sword out and was swinging it to every side. His eyes were as big as plates, the members of her crew were trying to make him stop without getting too close. By the blood on Gonzo’s face and Bonny’s arm, Uma guessed they weren’t being too successful._

_“GET OFF ME!” Her first mate screamed._

_“Harry!” Uma said using her best commanding voice, yet she only got the attention of the crew and not Harry’s. With a frown, Uma noticed something she hadn’t before. _Where’s Gil?_ Looking around while trying not to look away from Harry for too long, the captain looked for her third in command, ignoring the desperate looks her crewmates were sending her. Uma found Gil unconscious a little far from the commotion, Jonas was kneeled by his side so Uma decided not to worry about him now. _

_Now, her first mate needed her more._

_“Harry” She said again, getting closer to him slowly. The closer she got to him the more tense her crew became. “It’s okay. No one is attacking you.”_

_“YOU WON’T HURT THEM, YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Harry screamed, swinging his sword again._

_“Harry, stop!” She tried again to get his attention but he was looking at a specific point. Uma didn’t try to look to see what had his focus because she already knew what she would see. Nothing. “HARRY!” The captain screamed, finally getting the attention of her first mate. He looked at her and seemed to get even more agitated._

_“No no no no no no no no…” _ _He said, shaking his head. “You can’t be here, captain. You have to leave, you have to…” He suddenly stopped talking and looked at the empty space again. “NO, YOU WON’T!” He screamed and suddenly lunged forward in the direction he was looking at, with his sword raised. Uma saw everything in slow motion. There was nothing on the place Harry intended to attack but Freddie was close. _

_Too close. _

_He would end up hitting her and going by the way Freddie seemed frozen on the spot, he would hit right on the head. _

_Freddie was going to die. _

_Harry was going to kill Freddie._

_Her crewmates seemed to have the same thought, because suddenly Gonzo, Bonny, Jillian, Desiree, and Zevon jumped at Harry. They took him down and Uma saw herself screaming at them to stop, the more they tried to hold Harry back the more agitated he got. He screamed and screamed and Uma was sure she was going to hear that sound for the rest of her life. Abruptly, Jonas appeared and held Harry’s lapels in his hands._

_“STOP!” Uma yelled hoping to be heard over the desperate sounds her first mate was making. Jonas didn’t give her any attention and punched Harry squarely on the jaw. _

_The noise stopped. _

_The crew members let go off Harry’s limp body and Uma felt her anger rising, she went directly to Jonas and turned him to look at her._

_“What’s my name?” She said with clenched teeth. Jonas looked confused and still a little high from the adrenaline but the captain refused to repeat the question._

_“Uma.” He finally answered._

_“And I am your captain.” She said getting close to his face, not caring that he was much taller than her. “Don’t you _ever_ ignore my orders like that again, do you hear me?” Jonas still seemed confused for a few seconds before she saw his anger rising too._

_“He was going to kill Freddie” Jonas said pointing in the direction that Freddie seemed now stuck on. Uma didn’t take her eyes off him._

_“And I told you to stop. You should have stopped.” _

_“He knocked Gil off.” Jonas said, still not standing down._

_“And.I.told.you.to.stop.” She repeated with force, making sure he understood every word. “I was going to make him calm down, you just made the problem worse.” The captain said and finally, Jonas looked down._

_“Captain…” Bonny said, her voice shaky. Uma turned to the other girl and clenched her fists at the sight. Bonny had her hands on Harry’s face but he was murmuring quietly and slowly folding into himself, his hands going to his ears. “What…” She said looking between their captain and their first mate. _

_“Take him to my cabin.” Uma said focusing on a point behind them, doing her best to keep her emotions in check. She didn’t see Bonny nodding, nor her and Gonzo making Harry stand up, each taking one of Harry’s arms. The boy didn’t seem to notice what was happening outside his head, he kept his eyes closed and his head down. When Uma was sure Harry wasn’t on the deck anymore, she went to her third in command. _

_She kneeled by Gil’s side and saw blood coming off his head. It seemed to be from the fall and not from a direct hit made by Harry. She checked his breathing and his head and knew he would be fine, just with a hell of a headache when he woke up. She stood and, distantly, saw another crew member kneel by Gil, to clean his wound. _

_Uma turned to Freddie next. The girl was pale and shaking slightly. Uma stayed face to face with her and put the other’s head on her hands. Freddie was younger than Uma and still had a lot to learn. The captain had seen her training her sword skills with Harry on occasion, she never seemed scared of his smiles or unhinged giggles, frequently offering a mad smile herself. _

_She had potential. _

_The girl slowly nodded at Uma who let go of her face when she seemed ready to move again._

_Bonny and Gonzo returned and they seemed more shaken up than when they left, Uma didn’t want to think what Harry was saying on her cabin, with his hands in his ears, his eyes firmly closed, rocking himself back and forth, talking not to them or anyone they could see. She had seen it too many times already._

_“Captain…” Bonny said, drawing Uma’s attention away from the sea. The ocean was calm and the captain couldn’t help but think of her first mate’s eyes. _

_She turned to her crew and locked eyes with Gil. He had woke up and was sitting on the floor, holding a rag to his head, trying to stop the bleeding. She knew he would be blaming himself for all of this. _Get in line.

_“What is going on?” Bonny asked. Uma looked at the eyes of every member of her crew. Her subordinates. _Her friends_. _

_They bled and almost got killed today. _

_By the hands of her first mate. _

_But Harry wasn’t just that. _

_The crew was scared of Harry, yes. He gave them orders and no one thought of disobeying him. _

_But they also cared for him. _

_In the Isle, you can't demonstrate your affection by doing anything but being loyal. And they were loyal to her _and him._ She saw them laughing together, singing together, training together. _They were her true family.

_She owed them the truth._

The dining hall was miraculously almost empty since it was almost the end of dinner time, everyone was already on their room or walking around in the gardens. When she entered the hall, Uma saw her crew sitting at their usual table, none of them was talking. Upon seeing her, they discretely looked her way and away, not wanting to press her to talk to them. The captain nodded at them and went to get the food and, after convincing the lunch lady to let her have the chicken and potatoes to go, she went to the table, when she stopped by her friends all of them turned to look at her.

"Harry…" Desiree started quietly, seemingly not sure of what to ask.

"He's asleep." Uma said, seeing a little of the tension leaving the shoulders of almost all of them except Gil's. Her third in command wasn't looking at her and she knew she would have to talk to him one-to-one later, but now she had left Harry alone for too long already. "Try not to worry too much" She said not bothering to create any false hope. She left them and really wished that in two or three days, Harry would be sitting on that table, with his almost manic smile, laughing at them for getting worried.

Uma entered Harry's room closing the door as quietly as she could, she put the package with the food on the table and went to the bed but she didn't take even a step in the direction of the bed before she noticed it was empty.

"Harry…?" She directed to the room as a whole hoping the boy would answer. After listening to the silence for a few seconds, the pirate walked slowly deeper into the room. Suddenly, she heard a low murmur coming from the closet.

The door of the closet wasn't fully closed, and, as slowly as she could, Uma opened it, and she couldn't help but let out a sigh.

Harry was inside, sitting there, hugging himself with his head on his knees. He was in the corner of the closet, apparently trying to make himself look as small as he could in the limited space. Uma walked in, getting closer, and when she reached the boy she could finally hear what he was saying.

"Shut up…shut up… shut up… shut up… shut up… shut up…" Uma suddenly didn't know what to do. She knew that when he was like that he wouldn't be able to answer her, and any touch or attempt at conversation would only make it worse.

He wouldn't eat nor sleep. Uma felt her shoulders getting heavier. All she could do was keep him company, make sure he didn't hurt himself, and pray to all Heaven and Sea that this would be over soon.

_Uma and Gil say that there are three stages._

_In the second stage, Harry knows what's real and what's not. _

_The sounds are more usual, Harry says he hears the clock in the background almost every day. Sometimes louder, sometimes he hears his name whispered in between, but always easy to ignore after years of practice. The problem is, on the second stage, everything gets too loud. _

_After being able to differentiate between what's real and what's not, it's like everything that's not gets even louder. _

_The clocks get louder._

_Instead of whispers of his name, he hears screams. _

_Screams from his father telling him all the ways he failed, all the ways he was a disgrace to the Hook's name, telling him how he was and always would be nothing._

_Screams from the kids of the Isle, the kids being neglected by their parents, the kids being abused by their parents, the kids being scared of the other kids, the kids being scared of_ him.

_Screams from his crew, from Gil, from his captain, from himself._

_He wasn't able to think of anything other than how much he wanted all of them to just SHUT UP._

_Harry never told anyone about the screams, they only knew that he heard things too loud to hear his own thoughts._

_Harry also never told anyone how much he hated when this happened. He always felt like that was the most vulnerable he could get. _

_The members of the Lost Revenge crew had taken on the habit of taking his hook away when he had his “episodes”. _

_He had a scar behind his left ear made by his hook from when he desperately just wanted some _fucking silence.

_When he was a small kid, and still not sure why no one complained about the tic-toc sounds that were everywhere on the Isle, his father used to say that he should just ignore the noise, should just man up and ‘act like a normal lad for fucks' sake’. _

_When the sounds got too much, he wouldn't answer his father's screams, nor react to his father's kicks, so, tired of his good for nothing son, Captain Hook simply locked him up in the closet. With the clocks. _

_Since then, Harry tried his best to stay hidden away from his father when the noise got too loud, tried to stay hidden from everyone._

_Vulnerability on the Isle could get you killed, or worse, could make you go mad._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you notice I just made up more names for Uma's crew members? Lol  
Don't forget to comment your thoughts! I love reading it and answering it! We are going to start to see more of the Core Four in the next chapters and more angst!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Uma” He said, blinking fast to make the tears go away. It wasn’t like Gil was the crying type, it’s just that this situation made him so _goddamn frustrated._ What was the use of being the size of a barge if he couldn’t make his friend's pain go away? “Do you think that maybe... someone in Auradon can help Harry?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!

“It’s not like I didn’t think they would end up together eventually” Evie said absently while making a few more adjustments on Mal’s dress.

“I am glad they finally snapped out of it.” Mal said while trying not to breath so Evie wouldn’t prick her by accident. “Maybe now Uma won’t be so cranky”

“Didn’t do much for you.” Carlos commented without looking up from his computer. Mal glared at his head but it didn’t have the wished effect since she had to try to turn to him without moving too much.

“I just thought they would be dancing around each other for longer.” Evie continued, ignoring their comments while standing up and analyzing her work.

“Maybe you are having a hard time accepting it because you used to have a crush on Harry.” Carlos said, finally looking up at the blue-haired girl.

“Irrelevant.” She dismissed with a shake of her hand. “Everyone had a crush on Harry”

“That’s fair.” Carlos murmured, turning back to his computer. Jay who was silent during the whole exchange, sitting on one of the beds, seemed to think a little and nodded his head slightly, and Mal did the same.

“It just didn’t seem the right time for them to get together.” Evie finished with a sigh.

“You seem awfully invested in this” Mal said with a soft smile.

“You know that I _love_ love” Evie said smiling softly at her friend, she took Mal’s hands in hers, getting a wistful look on her eyes. “I think everyone deserves a chance at true love, mainly the Isle kids.”

“And why it’s so hard to believe that Harry and Uma got their heads out of their asses and decided to do something about it?” Mal asked.

“Because…” Evie started but didn’t seem able to finish. She let go of her friend’s hands and turned to look at the drawing of the dress again. “Something is up with Harry. And if there’s one thing I know is that you can’t really be happy and love someone if you don’t accept and love yourself first.” She turned around and looked at the faces of her friends, they might not agree with her on her vision of love but they also knew that something was going on, and they never managed to say no to Evie.

“I can ask Gil about it.” Jay said making all of them turn to him. “If you want to.” He finished lamely.

“Thank you.” Evie said softly. Then, she clapped her hands once and got the light on her eyes again. “Your turn, boys!”

Gil was walking on the gardens of Auradon Prep with his mind far away. He usually liked to look at the trees looking for new fruits or flowers, but today his mind was too busy with the worries and anxiety.

“Hey, Gil.” He startled and looked back, already knowing who he would see. Normally, Gil waited for Jay to get out of his training so they would explore together, but the blond felt like he needed the few moments alone.

“Hey.” He answered when Jay got close enough to hear, trying his best to smile like nothing was wrong.

“What’s up?” Jay said stopping in front of him. Gil looked up making a frown and Jay laughed softly. _At least something was still right in the world. _“What are you thinking about?” Jay asked with a bright smile on his face.

“Nothing much.” He replied, imitating his best smile. “Want to check out the berries on the woods?” He suggested before the other could ask more questions.

Gil and Jay talked a little and then just stayed in silence collecting the berries since the son of Tiana and Naveen had promised to teach Gil how to make a pie with them.

“So…” Jay said suddenly not looking up from the bush he was collecting berries from. “Harry…” At the name, Gil looked up with wide eyes and, at the same time, Jay looked up too. They locked eyes for a second before Gil looked down trying to disguise his reaction.

“What about him?” He asked trying to sound innocent. Jay frowned before shrugging, but his eyes were still analyzing the other.

“Haven’t seen him around much”

“Yeah…” Gil mumbled not really knowing what to say.

“And yesterday at lunch…” Jay started but trailed off when he noticed Gil getting tense. The ex-thief didn’t know if he should go on, he was curious but in the end, he was asking for Evie, for some reason the girl was really invested and worried about this. Jay thought Harry was just causing a scene on purpose, he had seen the pirate causing scenes on the Isle to scare people, screaming at random times, laughing maniacally at nothing, pushing people around for no reason. Jay had given up trying to understand Harry a long time ago, but Evie seemed determined to not let this go, so he would do this for her. “He seemed…weird.”

“It’s not his fault” Gil said loudly before Jay had even finished speaking. Gil’s eyes widened when he noticed what he had said and Jay was taken back for a second. “He doesn’t…he isn’t…” The boy tried to explain himself without having to say too much but he was at lost for words. “It’s not his fault” He repeated quietly. Jay frowned worriedly and put his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“It’s okay…” Jay reassured, nodding slightly, Gil nodded back and took a deep breath.

“What’s going on?” Jay asked softly.

“It’s not his fault.” Gil repeated, it was extremely important that Jay and everyone else understood this. “He tries not to hurt anybody, but he gets confused! It’s too much at the same time.” Gil said hurriedly like he was scared of being caught telling a secret, but he had to get it out of his chest. Jay was getting more and more confused the more Gil spoke.

“What do you mean, he gets confused?” Jay asked but Gil kept on talking over him.

“His father says he pretends but he’s wrong! Why would someone pretend something like that? Every time we have to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone, not even himself, and we are all scared that, one day, he might not be able to see or hear us anymore. And he doesn’t talk about it, but I know he is scared too.” Jay felt like he was missing an important piece to solve this puzzle, something that would make all of this make sense, he just didn’t know what to ask besides _Go back and explain everything from the top, please_.

“Gil…I don’t know what you are talking about.” Jay said slowly and he saw the other’s shoulders drop as if he had expected that Jay would understand without him having to explain. “But if you talk to me maybe I can help or get someone who can.”

“No.” Gil said while shaking his head, “I have…I have to go.” He said and, swiftly, turned and walked away. Jay tried calling back and, when that didn’t work, ran after him.

“Gil! Wait!” He put his hand on Gil’s arm, turning him so they would stand face to face. “Talk to me. Whatever is going on is taking a toll on you. You don’t have to deal with this alone.”

“I-I can’t…” Gil said slowly, battling with himself. Suddenly, Jay understood what was holding Gil back.

“You won’t be betraying Harry’s trust if you talk to me.” He said. Jay knew that, on the island, loyalty was the only way to show that you cared for someone; Gil felt that if he shared his burden, if he shared about whatever was going on with Harry, it would cause a rupture in their relationship that he wouldn’t be able to mend.

“I have to go.” Gil repeated and left before Jay could say anything else.

_Gil talked with the infamous Captain Hook only once and he really wished to never repeat the encounter. _

_Uma had ordered that all the crewmates focused on repairing the newly acquired ship, she and Harry had decided to call Lost Revenge. Gil didn’t really understand the fun in having a ship when they couldn’t set sail. Sure, he didn’t say that to his captain, for some reason she wasn’t too fond of his observations. It wasn’t Gil’s fault if he really thought Uma looked like a shrimp sometimes (mainly when she was by Harry’s side; she was way smaller than the other and Gil saw that, sometimes, she got really red around him), so, the captain had enough and sent him to look for Harry, who had been missing for the past three days._

_It wasn’t unusual for any of the Isle kids to disappear from time to time. Their parents, in their majority, had erratic personalities and behavior, sometimes deciding that their kids should stay home to do some core or other, or that they shouldn’t hang out with someone because they had beef with their parents, so Gil and Uma weren’t too worried about Harry’s disappearance. _

_When Gil reached Hook’s clock store, he got inside and walked up the stairs without worries, knowing for sure that the Captain was never there. Getting on the second floor, where the Hooks lived, was a usual experience, what wasn’t usual was seeing Captain Hook sleeping on the couch. _

_Gil froze where he was and stared with wide eyes at the snoring man. He was wearing dirty clothes that seemed to have seen better days, his feet were on the table and there were empty bottles everywhere. Without meaning to, the boy’s eyes went to his left hand, or where his left hand was supposed to be. Harry carried a hook around for a few years now and even if Gil had seen him hurting people with it, it didn’t cause in him the terror that seeing his father’s hook caused. Maybe it was because the Captain’s hook had caused more than a few cuts on random islanders that had disrespected Uma, James Hook’s hook had gutted people for real, had killed people, and had cut the flesh of Gil’s friend more times than he could count._

_The boy had stayed frozen on the door for too long but before he could snap out of it, the man moved a little. At that moment Gil stopped breathing, he deeply wished he could turn invisible. With a grunt, Captain Hook stretched and slowly opened his eyes and, not even one second after, the man saw Gil standing on his door. The villain crooked his head to the side and frowned a little in concentration._

_“You…you are Gaston’s spawn, aye?” The man asked with his strong voice, Gil opened his mouth but nothing came out. “I am talking to you, boy!” He screamed, hitting his hand on the arm of the couch._

_“Ye-yes, sir.” Gil answered, stuttering. Hook grunted in acknowledgment and put his hand on his mustache. After a few seconds staring at each other, the captain raised his eyebrow, the same way Harry did whenever Gil was being particularly dense._

_“So? What do ya want, boy?” Hook asked, losing his already small patience. _

_“Ha-Harry…” Gil answered looking anywhere but the man, hoping his friend would appear and get him out of this conversation. Hook scoffed and laughed a little, making Gil look at him._

_“He was acting like a nut-job so I told ‘im he could leave when he stopped being a little cunt” Hook said laughing a little, looking at Gil like he was hoping the boy would laugh along, but Gil felt cold and, suddenly, angry. He knew he would never win a fight against Captain Hook, and he knew the man wouldn’t hesitate to gut him with his hook if he jumped on him, so Gil clenched his jaw and his fist, hoping the man would leave soon. “He really thinks that little act of his will get him some shortcut but he’s wrong, you act like a scum you get treated like one.” The Captain said with a wicked smile. When Gil didn’t react, the man stared thoughtfully at Gaston’s son._

_“Tell me, boy…My son orders you around doesn’t he?” Gil knew the question was a trap, if he told the truth, that he and Harry were under Uma’s orders, Harry would suffer the consequences. His friend had told him multiple times that his father wanted him to become captain and be a leader but Harry wasn’t a leader, he was a First Mate. The best one._

_“Yes, sir.” He lied between clenched teeth._

_“Don’t follow him around much. Cut him through when he is looking the other way and get yourself some credibility.” Hook said like he was giving a special piece of advice, then the man laughed like a mad man and Gil wished he could stop seeing the similarities between the man in front of him and Harry. “Do it when the scunner is looking at one of his imaginary friends.” Hook kept laughing while standing up. Finally, on his feet, the man took one of the bottles on the floor that still had some liquid inside and took a sip. He walked slowly in the direction of the door but stopped when he was almost a hair length from Gil. The man raised his hook and touched its tip on the boy's neck, making Gil stop breathing._

_“Ya know…I hate you lot, wee nuggets.” He whispered and Gil saw his blue eyes get a little red. “Always thinking you are better and smarter…” He continued but didn’t seem to be seeing Gil anymore. Focusing again on the present, the captain took another sip of his drink, without taking his hook off the boy’s neck, and snarled at Gil. “Don’t ever set a foot on my house again” His breath smelled like rum and Gil was glad when Captain Hook finally left, probably to finish his drink aboard what was left of the Jolly Roger. Letting go of the breath he was holding, Gil allowed himself only a few seconds to calm his heart before going deeper into the house to look for his friend._

_Gil went to his room first but found it empty, suddenly, he remembered something Harry had told him a few years ago while they were hiding beneath a table on the market. Running, Gil went to the door hidden behind a shelf. Dragging the shelf to the side without hesitation, the boy tried to turn the knob but found it locked and, not wanting to lose time, Gil used his shoulder and all his strength to open the door, and it gave in after two tries._

_The room didn’t have a lamp so the light from the door was the only way to see anything inside, it was small and, together with the darkness and the incessant sounds of the clocks spread out on every wall, the room seemed something out of a nightmare._

_ Harry was sitting on the corner with his head on his knees and his hands on his ears, rocking himself back and forth slightly, it was a position Gil was already familiar with. The First Mate was wearing the same clothes he was wearing the last time they saw each other three days ago, his hair wet with sweat and grease. At the sudden change in light, Harry looked up and Gil could see he had a cut on his lip, a big purple bruise on his cheek and dark circles under his eyes._

_Gil wished he had taken his chance before and took a swing at Captain Hook._

Harry was sitting inside his own closet, mumbling in pain and complaints and Gil couldn’t take his eyes off him, his fist closed in unexplained anger.

“Gil…” Uma said when she noticed that the other wasn’t listening to her. She sighed, tired, not being able to sleep a wink ever since finding her friend in that position. She had missed her classes of the day and two meetings with the King, Mal, Evie, and the Fairy Godmother, but that wasn’t important now. Uma put her hand over Gil’s closed fist and turned him to her. “You know he will stay like this for at least a day or two, there’s nothing to be done.”

“Uma” He said blinking fast to make the tears go away. It wasn’t like Gil was the crying type, it’s just that this situation made him so _goddamn frustrated_. What was the use of being the size of a barge if he couldn’t make his friend's pain go away? “Do you think that maybe... someone in Auradon can help Harry?” He asked quietly, looking desperately at his captain. Uma let go of his hand and, shocked, walked a few steps back.

“What?” She asked, but continued before Gil could say anything. “They are going to send him back Gil.” The girl said with fire in her eyes. “This… Harry doesn’t fit their vision of perfect redemption.” She pointed at the boy in question, still on his place on the floor, not really listening to them. “They are going to treat him like damaged goods and won’t even hesitate to send him back to the Isle.” Uma stopped, putting her head on her hands before she could get even more worked up.

Gil nodded slightly, he knew this, he knew that it doesn’t matter how great Jay and the Core four treated them, or how nice the King looked, in the end, they were alone and depended only on each other.

“We can do this.” Gil said making Uma look up. “Like we did all the times before. We can do this” Uma nodded at her third in command and breathed deeply, gaining more strength to get over this.

“You are right.” Jay said before he even sat down at the table where his friends were sitting.

“Right about what?” Mal asked even if the comment had been directed at Evie.

“Something is wrong with Harry.” Jay explained making everyone at the table stop doing what they were doing to look at him.

“What is it?” Evie asked, worried.

“I don’t know.” The ex-thief answered, making their friends grunt in frustration. “But Gil said some things…I think it’s serious.”

“I don’t think talking behind their backs is the best strategy,” Ben said before they could discuss it any further.

“They won’t talk to anyone and if Jay is right and it’s something serious, something bad might happen.” Evie said to the King then turned to Mal and gave her a look.

“Evie is right.” Mal said putting her hand on Ben’s thigh. “We are not going to plan their downfall or anything like that, we just have to know what is going on so we can help them.” Ben sighed but relented, he was also worried, Uma hadn’t appeared on the classes they shared and he hadn’t seen Harry since yesterday.

“Tell us what Gil said.” Evie said turning to Jay, nodding slightly.

Uma and her crew may act though but the Core Four knew better than anyone how hard it was to live on the Isle and then try to adapt to a completely different place like Auradon, it was hard to admit their shortcomings or hardships when they had been taught their whole life that any sight of weakness meant you are bait.

Auradon had taught them that there was nothing wrong in asking for help, and they would try their best to show this to all the VK’s, even the pirates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell what you think! In the next chapter we are going back to Harry's pov and the plot will thicken!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looking at the date, Harry noticed it had passed four days since…since his last normal day and it was noon, then he noticed something very strange, he had 37 new messages. All from the Core Four and the King.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am on a roll this weekend! More update

TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC _YOU DO NOTHING RIGHT_ TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC _HARRY_ TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC _HARRY HARRY _TIC TOC TIC TOC _USELESS GIT_ TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC _STOP PLEASE_ TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC _GOOD FOR NOTHING_ TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC _THEY ARE GOING TO LEAVE YOU_ TIC TOC TIC TOC _HARRY_ TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC **YOU ARE NOTHING**

It was like his father was right by his side and he was locked again on that hellish closet with the goddamn clocks. _JUST SHUT UP!_

But it didn’t stop.

The voices kept screaming, the clock kept ticking.

Harry was sure that if this went much longer his head would explode. He couldn’t fell anything but the deep wish for it all to _just stop_.

And suddenly, there was silence.

The boy swore his ears were ringing as an after effect of all that noise. He noticed he was breathing hard and was sitting on the floor. Slowly, scared to break the little peace he had finally gotten, he opened his eyes and saw himself in the closet of his room, it was dark but he didn’t know if it was because it was nighttime or because the light was simply turned off. He lowered his hands and took deep breaths to try to calm his heart, distantly he became aware that he was covered in sweat, but everything seemed far away.

Harry put his hand on the wall behind him so he could get some leverage to get up. While standing his legs felt numb and he felt so lightheaded he almost fell, but he ignored all of this, the only thing on his mind was how he was tired, and he made his main goal to reach his bed.

Slowly, so he wouldn’t trip, he got out of the closet, looking only to his bed. Out of nowhere, Harry felt a small body fitting itself under his arm to get some of his weight. Looking down, the pirate saw his captain holding one of his arms firmly on her shoulder and using her arm to hold his waist.

“Slowly…” She murmured for no reason since Harry didn’t think he could go slower. When they finally reached the bed, he fell unceremoniously on it and distantly heard Uma wince because of his lack of care. Harry thought for a second that maybe he should shower but it seemed like too much work and right now, he just wanted to succumb to the blissful darkness and silence of the sleeping world. He closed his eyes but before he could truly get comfortable, he felt Uma’s hand on his shoulder.

“Wait…Drink this.” He opened his eyes and suddenly there was a glass of water on his hand. Now that he thought about it, he was thirsty and his stomach was grumbling. Harry drank the water in a second and Uma produced a second glass for him without him having to ask. When he finished the second glass, she put a plate on his lap containing two peanut butter sandwiches, the only thing she could cook.

Harry devoured the first one like a starving man but ate the second one more calmly. By the time he finished eating, his eyes were dropping on their own accord.

He didn’t see Uma taking the plate off his lap neither she pushing his cover over him, but he did feel her hand caressing his hair. There was so much he wanted to ask, _how long has passed? Did I hurt anyone? Did anyone see me? How are you? _But he couldn’t get a single word out before he was pulled into complete darkness and silence.

_Uma and Gil say that there are three stages._

_In the third stage, Harry knows nothing._

_The sounds are more usual, Harry says he hears the clock in the background almost every day. Sometimes louder, sometimes he hears his name whispered in between, but always easy to ignore after years of practice. On the third stage, Harry is just tired._

_After being tortured with noises he can’t stop, Harry gets so fucking tired that he just sleeps._

_Normally he spends a day sleeping, not having the energy to do anything._

_Once he slept through two whole days, Uma and Gil kept checking him, scared that he had died while they were not looking._

_After the long sleep, the first mate actually wakes up more tired than before. His dark circles don’t disappear for weeks and it takes days before he starts to act somewhat normal. He is slower than usual and he gets headaches with an astounding frequency._

_After the ‘slow period’ passes he gets agitated, nervous, and easy to anger. He gets on edge, expecting the noises to come back, he normally doesn’t answer when people call his name, scared that he only heard it in his head, usually he distracts himself by running errands for Uma, it’s always the best to keep his mind occupied until he gets normal again._

_When he was just starting to follow Uma everywhere, his father noticed that sometimes he would jump every time someone called his name, would check if there was a clock near him almost every time. Then one day, Harry started hearing the goddamn clock everywhere he went again, right after he had calmed down from an episode. Normally, he had a few weeks of peace before the noise came back so Harry felt hopeless. _

_At noon he had his head on the table at Ursula’s and no one dared to get close to the irritable pirate. With his head down he didn’t hear Uma getting closer._

_“You are ticking.” She said making Harry look up surprised._

_“You are hearing it too?” He asked almost desperately, his future captain (just wait until they get a ship, this Isle won’t be able to stop them) frowned slightly and nodded._

_“It’s coming from your pocket.” She said indicating with her head the pocket of his jacket that was still slightly bigger than him. It was Harry’s turn to frown and he put his hands in his pockets and, surprisingly, he found something in his right one. When he took it out he saw a pocket watch on his hand. Uma raised her eyebrows, surprised, and Harry frowned more._

_He recognized the clock, it was his father’s, he had made thousands of drunk rantings to Harry about how it represented all of his nightmares with a certain crocodile. His father had said that that thing could make even a grown man shake. _

_He had seen the clock locked in the cabinet, his father had said he hadn’t found the right man to haunt with the clock yet._

_His father knew he hated the ticking sounds maybe even more than him, and he decided to put it on his son’s coat while he wasn’t looking._

_Harry suddenly got angry, so angry he saw only red. _

_He put the watch on the table and slowly grabbed one of the metal cups in which Uma served the drinks. Without thinking twice Harry smashed the cup on the watch over and over again. He imaged that the watch was his father's head and he hit it with even more force, standing up so he could get a better angle. When he finally stopped, breathing hard, he saw that the damn watch was still whole with only a crack on the glass. Harry raised his hand to start the attack again but then he noticed something else. _

_Silence._

_The watch had stopped working._

_The pirate lowered his hand and looked at the clock, seeing this time that the hands had stopped at exactly 11:20, and Harry started to laugh. And laugh. And laugh._

_He laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes; he looked at Uma’s face and saw her frowning at him, which made him laugh harder. He looked around and saw the scared faces of the other costumers, still laughing he grabbed the pocket watch and turned, holding the watch suspended in the air by its chain._

_“Seems like it’s never going to be lunchtime” He said and laughed like it was the funniest thing he ever said._

Harry woke up with an urgent urge to pee. He got up, without difficulty this time, and noticed he was alone in the room. He went to the bathroom and, after relieving his bladder, took out all of his clothes and took a much-needed shower. He passed directly in front of the mirror without stopping to look, knowing already he probably had eye bags that were going to stand there for days.

After abusing the hot water, the pirate grabbed the towel and dried himself on the way to the closet, not bothering to cover himself. Grabbing the clothes and putting it on, Harry checked his phone that had been connected to the charger on the corner of the room.

Looking at the date, Harry noticed it had passed four days since…since his last normal day and it was noon, then he noticed something very strange, he had 37 new messages. All from the Core Four and the King.

From: Princess

Hey Harry, how are you? _13:24_

Do you know what you are going to wear to Mal and Ben’s engagement party? _13:28_

I was thinking that maybe I could do something for you _13:30_

To wear _13:30_

I can make it with lots of leather _13:55_

And I noticed plaid suits you too _13:55_

Lots of red _13:55_

Maybe a little blue _14:03_

Harry??? _14:13_

Really, I won’t charge anything _16:02_

See if you can meet me at Evie’s 4 Hearts today _11:17_

Maybe tomorrow _22:17_

From: Jay

Have you seen that the tourney team opened try-outs? _13:26_

The fencing team too _13:30_

From: Pup

What’s up? _13:26_

Want to hang out sometime? _13:26_

I have a dog you can pet _14:10_

If you like dogs _14:16_

From: Purple

Hey _13:27_

Sup? _10:12_

From: Benny

Hi _13:27_

How are you? _13:27_

I noticed that I never got to show you and the others all the cool places of Auradon _13:27_

Do you think maybe you are interested in a tour around the kingdom with the King himself? _13:27_

Not that I think I am that special _13:27_

If you want to go alone you can _13:27_

I just wanted to get a chance to talk to you _13:28_

Get to know you better _13:28_

When was the last time we talked? _13:28_

Probably when you kidnapped me lol _13:29_

Not that I hold it against you _13:29_

You and Uma were doing what you thought was the only way to get what you wanted _13:29_

Haven’t seen you around _14:12_

Going to class today? _ 09:37_

You shouldn’t miss this many classes _13:16_

Met Uma today and she said you decided to skip today too _10:43_

Is everything okay? _15:22_

Harry felt confused and frowned at his phone like it could answer all of his questions. Shaking his head he put his phone on his pocket and went to the bathroom, finally looking at himself in the mirror. He was right, there were eye bags under his eyes that he definitely wouldn’t be able to hide not even with his eyeliner, he was also paler than usual and he got the impression he had a sickly complexion. With a sigh, he put on his eyeliner and left the room.

The cafeteria was packed as usual and Harry went to grab some food then went directly to his usual table. His crewmates didn’t seem to be talking much but when he sat at his usual place by Gil’s side and in front of Uma, it was like they got energized. They didn’t turn to him or treat the situation as any different and Harry knew they were putting an effort to act normally. Harry just listened to their talks about their clubs and classes and discoveries and let their voices drown his thoughts. When Harry finished his food he started to think about getting more, but before he could stand up Gil put his arm on his shoulders.

“How about we all go to the Lost Revenge today to do some repairs?” He suggested and everyone cheered in excitement. Harry looked a Gil for a few seconds before smiling a pale imitation of his usual sharp grin and put his arm around the other’s shoulders.

“Dying to do some hard work eh?” He said gaining a few laughs.

“Okay, okay.” Uma said with a smile on her face. “Doing repairs on the Lost Revenge is our plan for the day.” The pirates cheered and Harry laughed softly.

“Hello.” A sweet voice suddenly said, coming from behind Harry. The pirates turned to the sound and Harry was surprised to see Evie standing there. “Harry, did you got my texts?” She asked looking at him with a gentle smile. It took a few seconds for her question to register on Harry’s mind and he nodded numbly before saying a quiet ‘aye’ in response. “So?” She asked and Harry didn’t really know what to say because he was still trying to ratiocinate that the princess had managed to stand behind him without him knowing.

“What is it?” Uma asked Evie, saving Harry from having to answer.

“I offered to make Harry’s outfit to the engagement party.” She said, never losing her smile. “As you know I am already making all of the dresses and Jay’s, Carlos’s and Ben’s clothes too.” Harry didn’t know how he was supposed to know that but maybe she was directing the comment to Uma who nodded at her.

“Can you make mine?” Gil asked, appearing to be very excited at the prospect of having custom made clothes that weren’t patchwork. Evie seemed surprised at the question but smiled brightly at the boy.

“Of course! Anyone who wants to, I can make it for no cost at all.” She said turning to the other men at the table. The rest of the crew didn’t seem too interested in the offer but Gil said a little yes after pumping the air. Harry smiled at his friend before having his attention pulled again to the princess.

“What do you say, Harry?” He looked at her and, suddenly, noticed she had blood coming out of her eyes. _Maybe she should take care of that, _he thought numbly.

“About what?” He asked distractedly. The first mate was so busy staring at the blood that he didn’t notice the frown that marked everyone’s faces.

“The clothes” Evie said a little confused, seawater coming out of her mouth.

“Seems like a good idea.” Harry said almost hypnotized by the mix of water and blood on the other’s face.

“You sure?” Uma asked making him turn to her. She seemed to be glowing from the holes where her eyes were supposed to be.

“Yes.” He answered smiling and turned back to the drowning and bloody princess. “When do you want me to go to your castle?”

“Today, if you can.” She answered seemingly very happy with this turn of events.

“We can’t.” Gil said inviting himself, Harry was surprised he could speak with a cut that big on his throat. Suddenly Harry noticed that the cut appeared to have been made by a hook and, confused, he looked at his hand to see if he was holding the weapon. “We are going to the Lost Revenge today.”

“We can go tomorrow.” Harry said after making sure his hook wasn’t on sight. He looked up and saw everyone looking at him. “To the Lost Revenge. It will still be there tomorrow.” He finished and was taken back by the frowns on his friend’s faces. “Or you can go today and I will go see it tomorrow.” He suggested trying not to stare too much at his friends’ eye holes. _Staring is not Good Form._

“You…sure?” Uma asked looking between Evie and him.

“Yes.” He said and turned to the blue-haired decomposing girl. “What time do you want me to go there?”

“What about meeting at six o’clock?” She said, smiling again.

“Okay.” He said trying his best flirty smile. Evie nodded and left to her table.

“What the hell Harry?” Uma said slapping his arm.

“What?” He asked looking at the severed tentacles on the table. _They looked familiar._

“Since when do you care about your outfit to the royal party?” Uma asked, frowning.

“They are royalty, aren’t they?” Harry said. He got the mental image of Mal and Ben marrying wearing those big dresses and gold suits that the royalty on the books his mother used to read to him wore. He laughed, _Mal definitely would trip on that big skirt._

“What’s going on with you?” Uma said frowning not able to hide her worry and panic. Harry frowned at her and smiled, confused with her question. The captain felt her heart stop at the look on her friend’s eyes, he seemed completely…unhinged. “Harry…what about we go to your room?” She said, aware of the hall full of people.

“Why? I was stuck there for the past four days.” He said not once losing his smile. All of the crew members, who were observing the conversation since the beginning, breathed in, shocked at Harry's statement, that was the closest the First mate had gotten to talk about the hallucinations.

“Harry” Uma said slowly. “I think something is wrong. We should go to your room and talk.” She said not trying to downplay her worry. Harry thought she shouldn’t be talking so much or else she would choke on her own blood, he opened his mouth to say so to her but got distracted by a familiar figure standing on the door. Harry wasn’t able to take his eyes off her, so he stood and went in the direction of the door.

When the pirate got close, she turned and left but he didn’t hesitate in running after her. He followed her on the halls of the school never really getting too close. There were flies everywhere and Harry tried to keep them away with his hands while not losing her of sight. Suddenly he bumped on someone, he was coming so fast that he, and the person he bumped into, ended up on the floor.

“Are you alright my dear?” He heard and for a second he thought he had reached _her_ but when he looked he saw that he had bumped into Fairy Godmother.

“Ye-yeah.” He answered getting a little confused at the suddenly missing flies.

“Oh no, you don’t look okay.” She said having already gotten up and extended her hand, helping the boy to get up.

“I am fine.” Harry answered looking at the empty halls. He felt his breath getting faster the more he looked at the empty space, he didn’t know why he thought he had seen her, there was no way she was going to be here. Harry suddenly felt a hand touching his cheek and looked down at Fairy Godmother’s worried face.

“Take deep breaths honey.” She instructed calmly. “Take your time.” The woman smiled with such a soft smile that out of nowhere Harry felt the urge to cry. The boy took deep breaths and felt a single tear fall from his eye, Fairy Godmother cleaned the tear with her thumb and her eyes got even softer. “Want to calm down on my office?” She asked softly but before he could answer he heard steps coming from behind him. Hurriedly, the pirate took a step back and rubbed his hand on his face.

“Harry!” Uma said running in the direction of her friend, Gil was right behind her. When she reached him she looked deeply into his eyes but she noticed Fairy Godmother standing there and hesitated to talk.

“Harrison.” The woman said, making Harry turn to her. “If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me.” She knew the kids wouldn’t be comfortable to talk in her presence so she turned and left.

Uma waited until she was out of earshot before turning to her first mate again.

“Are you okay?” Uma asked, unsure. Harry looked at her and she was normal, no blood or water in sight, he nodded slightly and looked at Gil, noticing he was unharmed too. The captain was still frowning, she noticed that he had lost that look in his eyes that had scared her earlier, now, he just seemed tired.

“You sure?” The captain asked.

Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc

“Yeah, I am sure.” Harry answered, closing his fists to stop his shaking hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave your comment I am always excited to hear from you guys! I actually like Fairy Godmother and I think she has the potential to be on some good scenes as a mother figure.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You okay?” Gil asked quietly. Harry nodded slightly and started walking again.
> 
> “Just tired.” He said and Gil didn’t comment on the fact that he had slept for the last day and a half, nor that he had fallen asleep on his desk on the class they shared today. His head was killing him and he was pretty sure that the shadow he kept seeing on the corner of his eye wasn’t really there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM ALIVE (this chapter is dedicated to a sweet person that commented on the last chapter and helped me write this and the monster that is the next chapter) and I recommend read the endnotes for nice (maybe not so nice) trivia.

_Harry didn’t remember much about his mother. He remembered that she used to read to him storybooks about princesses and princes without the bitter tone the other people on the Isle used when talking about heroes. He remembered she used to sing to him softly while caressing his hair until he had fallen asleep._

_“You are amazing Harry.” She used to whisper. “Your eyes are going to enlighten the world.” _

_Harry used to lie down on her chest and listen to her heartbeat._

_Thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump_

_She wouldn’t let him leave the house, she used to say that the outside world was too dangerous, full of people trying to snuff his light away._

_Thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump_

_His father was never at home, she used to say he was too busy fighting nightmares on the sea. Harry asked if he could fight too and she said that no, he was too precious for that._

_Thump-thump ticthump-tocthump thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump_

_He asked why they had to sleep on the closet and she said they were just playing hide-and-seek but she never answered who they were hiding from._

_Thump-thump thump-thump ticthump-tocthump ticthump-tocthump thump-thump_

_Harry didn’t remember her face, only her hands and her soft smiles. She was always smiling._

_Thump-thump tic thump toc thump tic thump toc thump tic thump toc thump thump thump_

_He used to pull the hem of her dress and ask her why she only talked with him when they were alone, she said that was because he was special and deserved her undivided attention._

_Thump-thump tic toc thump-thump tic toc thump-thump tic toc tic toc_

_His mother used to read him storybooks about princesses and princes that married using big dresses and gold suits. About princesses and princes that won against evil by using goodness and forgiveness. About princesses and princes that listened to their parents and stayed inside and didn’t ask too many questions._

_Thump-thump tic toc tic toc tic toc thump-thump tic toc tic toc tic toc thump-thump tic toc _

_His mother used to sing to him softly while caressing his hair until he had stopped talking. She sang songs about pirates destroying villages and houses burning. She sang about the light on his eyes that, even being the lightest blue, made her remember of fire. She caressed his hair using her fingers to untangle it. She caressed his hair roughly, pushing strands to untangle imaginary knots from it._

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc thump- thump tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc _

_Then, one day, his father opened the closet and she was gone. _

_They never talked about her._

_Nothing on the house indicated she was ever there._

_His father made sure he left the house every day to go to school just because Harry made a point of not wanting to leave._

_“What about the bad people outside?” He asked._

_“They are inside too, boy” His father answered before kicking him down the stairs._

_Harry thought that perhaps, his mother had been his first hallucination._

It was insane to think his mother had been running through Auradon Prep’s halls, yet Harry couldn’t shake the idea that she had been _right there_.

“Why did you accept Evie’s offer?” Uma asked, crossing her arms but not missing a single movement Harry made.

“She and her friends sent me thousands of messages, which means they want something and they won’t leave me alone until I give something to them” The pirate answered rubbing his hand on his face. _He was so tired._

“So what? You are going to have a heart-to-heart with the princess?” Uma asked not hiding the bitter tone on her voice.

“No.” Harry answered with a sigh. He raised one eyebrow and smirked slightly. “I am going to tell them whatever crosses my mind and make it a very good sob story.” The captain didn’t look convinced but had to sigh in defeat when they heard the bell signaling the end of recess. Harry distantly thought that he should go eat later, he hadn’t touched any food since he woke up.

“You come meet me right after.” She said pointing to her first mate to show him she was being serious.

“Aye captain” He said and winked. Uma rolled her eyes while he passed by her to go to his locker.

“Go with him.” She said to Gil and, after a nod, he left after their friend.

Uma couldn’t get Harry’s look from her head. She had never seen him like that and he had just passed through an episode, it was supposed to be a few days until Harry calmed down completely and then some time of peace. She was going to keep an eye on him and try to talk to him to see if she can find out exactly what they are up against this time.

Evie made sure everything was in place for the third time and looked at the clock on the wall. 18:12.

“He was supposed to be here already.” She said fidgeting with the pencils on the table of her studio.

“Calm down.” Doug said putting his hands on her shoulders. “He probably just got lost on the way.”

“Oh my god! He could be lost!” She said, shocked. Doug laughed slightly and ran his hands up and down on her arms.

“He is coming. Harry doesn’t seem the type to give up because he got lost.” Evie sighed and nodded slightly.

“You are right.” She said and squeezed his hand before grabbing her phone to see if she had any new messages.

From: M

Is he there? 18:10

Evie sighed again and typed a fast reply.

To: M

Not yet 18:12

What if he doesn’t show up? 18:12

From: M

Don’t worry, he will be there 18:12

He probably already noticed we are going to be on his ass until he talks to one of us 18:12

Evie put the phone down and turned to Doug, putting her arms on his shoulders.

“He was acting strange at lunch again.” She said absently, while running a hand on her boyfriend’s hair.

“Strange how?” Doug asked, frowning.

“He seemed…distracted. He also looked sick.” Evie said getting a faraway look on her eyes.

“Have you thought about talking to the Fairy Godmother about your suspicions?” Doug asked making Evie stop her hand.

“I haven’t told even Mal about my suspicions.” Doug looked confused at her response.

“Why?”

“Because it’s serious. I don’t want to worry her if I am wrong.” She answered looking away.

“And?” Her boyfriend asked making her look at him again.

“And…maybe he wants to keep it a secret.” She said and Doug sighed.

“Evie…”

“I know that if I am right he has to talk to someone about it, but maybe he doesn’t want to have it advertised to everyone.” She said, exasperated.

“We are not talking about _everyone,_ we are talking about your best friend.” He said, matching her tone.

“It’s his secret to share, not mine.”

“But it would be good to talk to Fairy Godmother about it if he doesn’t. Someone who can really do something to help him should know about it.” Doug said and Evie knew he was right, she was just scared of causing unnecessary trouble for the pirate.

“You’re right. But this discussion is only necessary on the off chance that a rumor I heard when I was a kid is true.” She said, trying to convey disbelief even if she thought she was right, but before Doug could respond there was a knock on the door.

Doug went to open it while Evie made herself look busy and when she heard the steps behind her, she turned with a smile on her face, which dimmed when she noticed that Harry wasn’t alone.

“Hi!” Gil said, waving happily and looking around.

“Hey.” She said, regaining her smile. “Hope you didn’t get lost on the way.”

“Nah.” Harry said shaking his hand in her direction while looking closer at a few red fabrics she had piled on the corner.

“Okay.” Doug said, clapping his hands once. “I will go meet the band” Evie nodded at him with a smile which he returned. He left but neither pirate seemed to care too much and just kept looking at the things she had scattered on the room.

“Who wants to go first?” She asked, indicating for them to get closer.

“I can go.” Harry said, stepping up on the stand she indicated, located in the middle of the studio between various mirrors. She grabbed a few pieces of red fabric and turned to him but found him staring at something behind her. Turning, she saw that he was looking at the clock on the wall.

“Do you have somewhere you need to be?” She asked when she noticed the intensity he was looking at the object.

“What?” He asked, finally turning to her.

“You seem worried about the time.” She explained and he looked at the clock again before turning to her again.

“No. Just wondering what time is it. That’s all.” He smiled but it wasn’t as big as his normal smile.

“Okay.” She said, nodding. “So, I think this tone is going to suit you so well.” She started indicating one of the fabrics on her hand. “I was thinking about doing something more ragged than what I am used to do. Make a big overcoat like the one you used to wear, and give it a little ‘piratey’ feeling, what do you think?”

“I think you know what you are doing, princess” Harry answered with a flirty smile and Evie rolled her eyes fondly at the nickname. “I just think you should do something about the pipes.” He commented while shaking his leg like he was trying to take something off it.

“My pipes?” She asked, confused. Harry frowned at her like she was the one saying strange things.

“The pipes.” Suddenly Gil said before Harry could say anything. “We…we heard a dripping sound when we came in.”

“Dripping?” Evie asked startled, she hadn’t heard a thing.

“And the water.” Harry said like they were being dense on purpose, indicating the floor with his hand. Evie looked down but the floor was dry.

“Yes! The water!” Gil said, pointing at Harry like he had just remembered something. “We saw some water falling….outside.” He finished apparently unsure. Evie got even more confused and shook her head a little.

“Okay. I will call someone to check my…pipes.” Harry and Gil seemed satisfied with this so she took her measuring tape and started taking Harry’s measurements.

After a few seconds of silence, Evie decided to start some conversation, being the most casual she could be.

“So…I didn’t see you around the last few days.” Harry and Gil exchanged a quick look.

“Decided to take a vacation.” He said, shrugging and smiling. Evie smiled back while she put the measuring tape on his neck.

“Well, I hope you know there’s a limit of how many times you can miss class without a reason.” Harry scoffed at that.

“And what are they going to do? Send me back to the Isle?” He said with a smile but Evie and Gil froze at the question.

“No.” Evie said looking at the pirate in the eyes. “They will make you repeat the year.” Harry’s smile got even wider.

“Worse, then.” Gil made a forced laugh and Evie looked briefly at him before giving Harry a small smile.

“If you talk with Fairy Godmother she can give you a week leave.” She said gaining frowns from the two boys. “It’s the new policy for the Isle kids that feel overwhelmed on Auradon.”

“Overwhelmed?” Gil asked.

“Yes. Sometimes it’s hard to adapt to such a different environment overnight. Didn’t you heard about it on the therapy sessions?” Evie asked while moving her papers so she could find the sketches she had made earlier.

“I went just a few times and the doctor said I should come back if I felt I need to.” Gil answered. When she didn’t hear Harry saying anything she turned to him. The first mate was staring at her with a smirk like he knew what she was doing.

“No, I didn’t hear about it.” He said and didn’t elaborate. Evie tried not to show her disappointment at the shutdown.

“I was thinking about putting some detail in teal blue on your outfit.” She said, knowing that the other line of questioning wasn’t going anywhere. Harry frowned a little at this.

“Why?” He asked.

“Uma’s dress is teal blue.” She answered and when he still didn’t say anything she continued. “You are taking her to the party, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?” He asked, still frowning and exchanging a quick look with Gil.

“You two are together now, aren’t you?” Evie asked and Gil let out a surprised laugh. Evie raised one eyebrow and smiled smugly to herself.

“I was wrong then.” She said dismissing the subject. “So let’s keep the red and black pattern.”

“Let’s do that” Harry said looking at the clock again. Evie looked down and noticed he had started to fidget with his fingers.

“Gil, it’s your turn.” The blue-haired girl said, indicating for Harry to step down but he only looked away from the clock and did that when the blond touched his elbow. With a yawn, the first mate got down and went to the table with Evie’s materials.

“For you, I thought of maybe using some yellow and brown. Let’s show your muscles, what do you think?” Evie said, smiling brightly at the boy.

“Yes!” He answered laughing. She laughed softly and got the measuring tape again. She worked in silence for a few moments but this time it was Harry who broke the silence.

“Tell me, Evie…What gave you the brilliant idea of doing our outfits for the engagement?” The pirate asked while touching everything he could get his eyes on.

“Just thought it would be a good way to get close to you guys.” Evie said shrugging. “I feel like we haven’t really talked since the barrier was brought down.”

“And there’s a reason why you and your friends seemed to have had this…urge to get close at the same time?” Harry asked making Evie turn to him, he was still looking at her table, seemingly not really interested in the conversation. She opened her mouth to deny it but stopped when he turned and smiled the sharp smile she remembered from the Isle. “Don’t act like I am stupid, princess.”

“We were worried.” She answered honestly. Harry lost his smile and crooked his head to the side. “You acted weird a few days ago and suddenly disappeared, we thought there was something wrong but all of your friends or refused to talk about it or told us a different story.” Gil looked down a little guilty but Evie still looked at Harry, who looked back with a neutral expression. “We know neither of you will let us help if you don’t trust us so we decided to show you guys that you can.” She had gotten closer while talking and stopped a few feet from him.

Harry stared at her for a few seconds, unmoving and then, suddenly, he started to laugh that maniacal laugh she was used to hearing from him.

“But there’s nothing wrong, princess.” He said, his smile so sharp it could cut paper.

“Don’t act like I am stupid, pirate.” She said back, with a sharp smile of her own. His smile disappeared for a few seconds before coming back bigger than before.

“Want to prove you are trustful?” He asked, getting closer to her. “Give me my dad’s head on a plate.” He said with a smile. Evie widened her eyes and felt her heart accelerate.

“What?” She asked, whispering. Harry had gotten into her personal space and he raised his left hand as if to touch her neck but brought it down before they touched. She knew that, if they were still on the Isle, he would be touching her neck with his hook.

“My dad’s head on a plate.” He repeated. “The Auradon royalty are keeping a secret how they choose which villains get to come live a charmed life here, which ones keep on living on the Isle with weekend visits from their kids and which ones stay rotting there. You have your say on everything related to the new politics, you can get it for me.” He explained with his smile firmly in place and Evie didn’t step back or show any kind of fear.

“Death penalty is out of cogitation. And besides, I have no say in that, I also don’t know how they are deciding it, I just know they are being effective on their choices.” She responded, calmly.

“Effective?” He said with a laugh. “I heard the Evil Queen didn’t get the free pass to Auradon. So what? You get treated like a princess on the Isle and your mother gets punished?”

“You don’t get to talk about how I was raised by my mother because you don’t know what happened behind four walls, just like I don’t get to talk about you and your father.” Evie said seriously.

“Exactly, Evie.” He said finally stepping back, losing his mad look, he just looked tired again. At Evie’s frown, he explained. “You can’t say if I was acting weird because you don’t know how I normally act. Nothing that happened in the last few days was out of ordinary.” Evie didn’t know what to say so Harry looked behind her and indicated to Gil to follow him. “See you around princess.” He said with a slight bow and left. Gil waved awkwardly and followed his friend, leaving Evie alone with her thoughts.

Harry left the ‘starting castle’ trying not to show he was in a hurry, he was sure Gil was following him so he didn’t look behind. When they finally were out of sight of the castle, Harry went to the closest bush and threw up his lunch.

Distantly he heard Gil wince but he was too busy trying to keep his stomach inside of him, to check on him. After a few minutes, when he was sure he had nothing left to vomit, he rubbed the back of his hand on his mouth and straightened his back.

“You okay?” Gil asked quietly. Harry nodded slightly and started walking again.

“Just tired.” He said and Gil didn’t comment on the fact that he had slept for the last day and a half, nor that he had fallen asleep on his desk on the class they shared today. His head was killing him and he was pretty sure that the shadow he kept seeing on the corner of his eye wasn’t really there.

“You can talk to me, you know?” Gil said suddenly making Harry stop and stare at him.

“What?” Harry asked, confused.

“About…” Gil started but seemed to not really know what to say, suddenly, he took a deep breath and stood taller. “About the hallucinations. I know I am not useful on a lot of things that don’t involve brute force but I want to help.” Harry was shocked Gil had really said it. They didn’t talk about it. They just dealt with it when it happened and pretended it didn’t exist when everything was normal.

“Do you want to have a heart-to-heart?” Harry said, mockingly, trying to discourage his friend.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” He said surprising the first mate again. Harry felt like he was staring at a stranger. Since when Gil started to think talking would make this better?

Harry opened his mouth to answer when he noticed a big spot with blood growing on Gil’s torso. Staring at it Harry thought that perhaps he had struck him with his hook all those years ago with more force than he remembered. Looking down at his left hand he noticed it was dripping in blood.

“Harry.” His friend said getting his attention again. The water that was overflowing Evie’s castle seemed to be reaching them.

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please let me know what you think. Your comments keep me alive lol  
Fun Fact: Did you know that when you get a puppy that is too young (30 days to a month ) they usually can't sleep because they miss their mother and their brothers and sisters (normally they stay together all the time so the separation is hard), so a good way to help them calm down and help them to sleep is put a clock inside a soft fabric and put it on their bed. The sound of the clock is so similar to a heartbeat that they get calmer thinking they are not alone.  
True story.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You are hurt.” He said numbly and instantly felt stupid, _Of course she is hurt, her hand is dissolving, genius. _
> 
> “What?” She asked, confused, and looked at her own hand. She frowned and turned the hand around a few times making her skin fall off. Harry thought that she was making it worse and he was feeling himself breath faster in barely concealed panic. Suddenly a hand held his wrist firmly, making him look away from the girl.
> 
> Harry saw himself staring at Jay, who was still holding his wrist, and Carlos, standing a few feet behind his friend. The pirate crooked his head in confusion but Jay kept looking at him and Carlos was alternating between frowning at his friend and at Harry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey update! I want to thank all of your comments they make my day! I normally only answer when I post a new chapter but know that I keep them open on my email so I can look at them every five minutes to make me go through the day.

Harry didn’t know what he was doing here; it was like his feet had a mind of their own and decided he needed to go to the stupid try-outs for the fencing team.

The room the fencing team used was relatively small, with various steps and obstacles to make the fighting more challenging. With shock, the first mate noticed that the floor was padded. _These royals really don’t want to risk a blood-spill do they?_

Entering the place, he found Bonny immediately, she was talking to three Auradon people Harry didn’t bother to remember the name of, but when she saw him, she couldn’t hide her shock and went to him.

“What are you doing here?” She said whispering while looking at the sides to make sure no one was seeing this. Harry raised an eyebrow and finally understood what the parents of the Auradon people felt like when their kids didn’t want them around in front of their friends.

“It’s a free kingdom, I can walk around.” He said, not lowering his voice in the slightest, hoping everyone was hearing them.

“Uma practically put a prize on your head.” She said, still whispering.

“What? Why?” He asked confused. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Carlos and Jay talking with a girl he had the impression he knew but, again, not bothered to learn the name of.

“She said you two were supposed to meet yesterday but you never showed up” Bonny said, crossing her arms, seizing him up and down as if to see if she could drag him to the captain alone.

“What? No, we weren’t.” Harry didn’t remember agreeing to meet Uma, he would never make his captain wait.

“Yeah? Well, she said you were, so it’s Harry-hunting season.” The pirate said and put her hand on her fake sword. The first mate raised an eyebrow at her audacity but shrugged, showing her he was not too worried.

“I am sure it’s a misunderstanding. After an important meeting I have, I will try to talk to her.”

“Important meeting? Since when do you have important meetings?” Bonny asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Since now.” Harry answered with a sharp smirk he hoped didn’t show how deeply tired he still was. He had fallen asleep immediately after putting his head on the pillow last night, and had managed to lost the time and arrived late to his first class but he still found himself falling sleep in all of his classes. “Jay! Carlos!” He screamed at the two VK’s and went their way with raised arms as if going for a hug, his voice amicable, like he was meeting two good friends. Pure perplexity wasn’t enough to describe Carlos’s face, and Jay crossed his arms, already suspicious.

“Harry.” Carlos said, still not losing the shocked look on his face.

“How are you doing?” Harry said, smiling brightly. He clapped Jay on the shoulder and put his arm around Carlos’s shoulders.

“Okaaaay.” The white-haired boy answered, now squinting, suspicious too.

“What do you want, Harry?” Jay asked, showing he wouldn’t allow any kind of mockery.

“Freedom to all people” Harry said with a sharp smile, showing no one told him what he was or wasn’t allowed to do. Jay raised an eyebrow but didn’t stand down. “What? I can’t come to hang out with my dear friends?” Harry didn’t think it was possible for Jay and Carlos to roll their eyes so many times in such a few minutes of conversation, but he was wrong. And suddenly he was so _goddamn tired_. A tiredness that seemed to be into his bones, the kind that didn’t feel like it was going to go away with just a good night of sleep.

Dimming his smile, Harry took off his arm from Carlos's shoulders and tried to hold back a yawn. “First you send me messages about wanting to hang out and when I take up on the offer you treat me like that? What a way to play with a guy’s heart.” He said with mockery on his voice.

“We just did that because Evie asked us to.” Jay said which earned him a slap on the arm from Carlos. So they wanted to play like that.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc_

Harry smiled like a shark.

“Well, but now I want to hang out. I want to see the world with you and the little pup here. What kind of misadventures can we get into, eh?” Harry stage-whispered, his accent getting thicker. “What about steal some jewels from their rooms or spray-paint their dorms?” Harry started, and could barely hold back his laughter when he kept talking. “Or maybe we could steal a genie’s lamp and wish to make the kingdom ours or turn all of the little puppies into fur coats.”

Both VK’s stiffed at the mention of their parents’ crimes. On the Isle, the level of your parent's wrongdoings could make you go far but in Auradon, the Core Four felt like their parents’ crimes were a reason of shame. They could wear their parents’ colors and rant about VK pride all they wanted, but at the end of the day, they didn’t want to remember their parents, much less be remembered by their parents.

Harry cursed them silently on his mind, hoping it didn’t matter how much time passed, they would still hear their parents’ voices on their heads, that they would still want to check over their shoulders, worried they might be observing them.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc_

“Okay, that’s enough.” Came a voice from the side, when Jay and Carlos stayed silent for too long. Harry looked at the owner of the voice and found the girl they were talking to before, he hadn’t noticed she was still there. “Are you here for the try-outs, Harry?” The girl, (_Lessie?_) asked.

“Try-outs?” Harry asked back, confused. _Lanny? Larry?_ He was so focused trying to remember the _damn girl’s name_ that he didn’t notice the frowns on Jay and Carlos’s faces.

“For the team…?” She said, uncertainly, she had been sure the pirate had appeared to try for the team. “If you aren’t, you should. I have seen you fight, you are very good.”

“You did?” Harry asked, distracted, now by the blur of blue dress passing on the balcony.

“Harry.” Carlos said softly, touching his shoulder. Harry jumped a little, startled.

“What?” The pirate asked while looking at the faces of the three people. When no one said anything else Harry frowned at them. _What was their problem?_ The pirate was about to ask that out loud when he felt the prick of needles on the back of his neck he feels every time someone observes him. Turning to look, Harry found a woman in a blue dress staring at him. She was dripping wet and Harry could hear her whispering his name.

_Harry Harry Harry Harry Harry_

“Harry.” Jay said a little loudly, making him turn to the ex-thief. Suddenly, Jay threw one of the fake swords at him, and Harry caught it on the air. The pirate raised an eyebrow in question. “Let’s fight.” Jay explained simply, while walking to get to the center of the room, the people getting out of his way, making space.

Harry laughed and took off his leather jacket, throwing it on the floor without a second thought. The first mate swung the sword experimentally to see its weight, it was almost the same as a real sword and Harry felt his smile grow wider. Harry noticed Jay hadn’t put on the protection equipment that he had seen the others use but didn’t bother commenting on it, suddenly fastening his pace in the direction of the boy, he raised the sword and made the first attack.

Harry felt that had been ages since the last time he had fought with a sword and, when he was attacking Jay, he felt his hook’s absence again. He had gotten used to and specialized in fighting with his hook and it had become almost the center point of his attacks, now, he felt almost out of balance with his empty left hand but he still managed to fight on equal ground with Jay. They walked while fighting but the pirate paid no mind to anything happening around him, not losing his step once when passing through the obstacles of the room.

Suddenly, Harry found an opening and used a move he used various times on the Isle, managing to take the sword off Jay’s hands and make him lose his step, falling on his knees. With the fake sword on Jay’s neck, Harry wondered how easy it would have been to kill him if they were still on the Isle. Then, the pirate felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see the girl they were talking with earlier.

“That was crazy good. That move is against the rules but still, crazy good.” She said and helped Jay get up from where he had fallen on his knees. The pirate secretly thought that these people didn’t know what fighting for your life really felt like, with their rules and safety equipment. “You should be part of the team.” The girl (_Lane?_) said, slapping Harry on the shoulder.

Harry looked at the hand that had touched his shoulder and saw that the hand was slowly dissolving, bone showing through. The pirate frowned at the hand and worriedly raised his hand to touch it but stopped before they could make contact.

“You are hurt.” He said numbly and instantly felt stupid, _Of course she is hurt, her hand is dissolving, genius._

“What?” She asked, confused, and looked at her own hand. She frowned and turned the hand around a few times making her skin fall off. Harry thought that she was making it worse and he was feeling himself breath faster in barely concealed panic. Suddenly a hand held his wrist firmly, making him look away from the girl.

Harry saw himself staring at Jay, who was still holding his wrist, and Carlos, standing a few feet behind his friend. The pirate crooked his head in confusion but Jay kept looking at him and Carlos was alternating between frowning at his friend and at Harry.

“We should talk about this later, Loonie.” Jay said without taking his eyes off the first mate. _Loonie, right. _

“Okaaaaay…” Harry heard distantly and felt the girl leave his side, but also didn’t take his eyes off the other boy.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc_

_Harry_

Harry finally looked away from Jay to look at who was calling him and saw a familiar shape pass on the door. The pirate gave one step to go to that direction when he felt that the hand was still holding him, he looked at the hand again and at his owner, his mouth opening in a predatory smile.

“Do we have a problem, Jay?” He asked wishing again that he still had his hook.

“Do you…You…” Jay started but didn’t seem sure of what to say. He sighed and finally looked away from the blue-eyed pirate. “You have to give back the sword.” He said, slowly letting go of his wrist, indicating with his head at the fake-sword Harry was still holding. Harry raised the weapon as if he was seeing it for the first time and handed it back to Jay. With nothing holding him back anymore, the pirate simply turned and left.

“Your jacket!” Lonnie screamed after him but Harry had already gotten out of earshot.

“Gil.” Uma said making her friend turn almost as an unconscious movement. She hadn’t seen him or Harry since yesterday and she was holding herself back from marching to her first mate room and demand _why the hell_ he had stood her up. Gil’s eyes got big when he noticed it was her who was calling him and the captain saw him look at his sides as if wanting to find a way out, but Uma was in front of him before he could escape.

Now that she was in front of him, Uma noticed what she hadn’t before: Gil had eye bags almost as big as Harry’s from the last time she had seen him, and he was disheveled, which wasn’t usual.

“Uma.” He said, trying his best to smile his usual smile but ended up giving her a grimace instead.

“Gil.” She asked, squinting at the boy. “What’s going on?” She asked deciding to ask about Harry after she found out what was bothering Gil so much that he wasn’t able to sleep.

“What? Nothing.” He said making Uma raise an eyebrow. It wasn’t a common occurrence for Gil to lie or hide something from his captain, he was usually very bad at keeping secrets, except when it was about one specific thing. Uma felt her heart accelerate in her chest. _It was supposed to be a down-time, everything should be fine for a few weeks at least._

“Gil…what happened?” She asked seriously.

“No-nothing…” Gil answered but the captain saw his resolve slowly disappearing. Uma looked at the full hall they were standing on and grabbed the boy’s arm. With no resistance from the other, the captain pushed him in the first dark classroom she found, closing the door behind herself and she didn’t bother to turn on the light.

“Gil, you are not the kind to keep secrets. What the hell is going on?” Uma said using her best authoritative voice.

“I-…I don’t know what you are talking about. Everything is fine.” Gil said with a shaky smile and Uma dropped her shoulders.

“Talk to me. I can’t help if I don’t know what is going on.” She said putting her hands on the other’s arms. Gil sighed and finally lost the poor imitation of a smile he had plastered on his face.

“It’s…it’s Harry” He said, confirming Uma’s suspicious. The captain took a deep breath and prepared herself to whatever her third in command was going to say. “He is acting really weird. Yesterday at Evie’s he talked about water on the floor but…but he wasn’t panicking or anything, it was like it was just something he noticed. That’s…that’s very weird.” Uma frowned. Gil was right. When Harry hallucinates he panics, causes some havoc, he never just let it be.

“It was only water? Or did he hallucinate anything else?” The captain asked trying to analyze this in a cold and critical way.

“That’s the problem.” Gil said, his eyes watering. “If he doesn’t panic how do we know when he is hallucinating or not? Usually, we just know he has an episode coming because he gets distracted and then starts talking and freaking out over something that isn’t there, but if now he is just…accepting…how do we know he isn’t hallucinating all the time? How do we know if, while he is talking to us, he isn’t seeing something else? How do we know if he is even seeing _us_ at all?” Gil said, his breath getting faster and faster. He wasn’t able to sleep that night, thinking about the implications of this.

Uma closed her eyes and tried not to panic with her friend, but she didn’t have the answers to calm Gil’s worries so she stayed quiet and tried to think of some kind of solution or way of helping.

“Uma…does this means he is getting worse?” Gil asked and the captain opened her eyes in surprise. _Does it?_ Her eyes started to water but she didn’t let herself cry, then she murmured something she thought she had learned a long time ago to be truth, something she had been thinking since she was old enough to talk.

“This isn’t fair…” She closed her fists firmly, suddenly angry. “The barrier is down, we are free, we get to do whatever the _fuck_ we want, we don’t have to see our parents again, we get to eat good food, we get to laugh and love so why…” Her voice choked up and she looked at her friend who had his eyes closed with force. Taking a deep breath, Uma rubbed her hand on her face cleaning any stray tear and talked with strength again. “We are going to work this out, Gil.” She said making Gil open his eyes and look at her. “Like we always do.” She finished. It hurt to see that the boy didn’t seem assured at that, but deep in her heart, Uma was also scared that this time, it would be too much.

Mal knew she was getting behind on…well…_everything_. Anxiety and worry were her new companions and even her friends seemed to stand back since she was getting more and more stressed as the days passed. She had the feeling Evie had been avoiding her and the absence of her best friend was like a rock on her heart.

She closed her locker and leaned her forehead on it. Sometimes she missed the simplicity of not caring, but then she remembered that she never really _not_ cared. She cared if she was going to be able to go to school without getting jumped, she cared if she was going to see her friends on the next day or if one of their parents would finally snap and they would be never seen again.

Suddenly, Mal felt two hands holding her waist and she knew instantly who it was. Relaxing further on the hold, she took a deep breath.

“How’s your day going?” Ben asked while kissing her head and rubbing the right side of her hip, right on the burn scar her mother had left after she caught Mal helping Evie back when their mothers still hated each other. Mal grunted in response and Ben laughed softly on her ear. The purple-haired girl turned in his arms, leaning her back on the locker.

“What about you?” She asked and Ben imitated her grunt in response. Mal laughed softly and hit him lightly on the shoulder.

“You have a free period now, right?” He asked stepping closer to her. Mal nodded and got happier just thinking about finally resting. When Ben didn’t say anything else Mal frowned slightly at him. Ben simply raised an eyebrow and smiled, Mal smiled back in response and, suddenly, her day got better.

“Don’t you have class now?” She asked, smirking but hoping he said no. Now that the idea was on her mind she couldn’t help but get excited.

“I can skip” Ben answered, shrugging, never losing his smile. Mal laughed at that.

“Careful there, King Benjamin. You have to set an example to the kingdom.” She teased, crossing her arms behind his neck.

“I can set an example to the kingdom by helping Lady Mal to relax.” He teased back and leaned into a kiss. They kept it soft for now and separated before it could get too heated.

“Your room or mine?” Mal asked, not getting too far from her boyfriend’s face. Ben winced slightly at that so Mal opened her eyes looked at his apologetic face. _You gotta be kidding me._

“Fairy Godmother said she wanted to talk to me later and if she doesn’t find me on school grounds she will probably turn to my father for advice” Mal winced at that, Ben’s father was an awesome father and person but not so good at being a King. She was about to reprehend Ben for getting her worked up for nothing when he raised an eyebrow again.

“What?” Mal asked.

“There are some empty classrooms” Ben said, faking innocence. Mal laughed at that and closed the distance between them again.

“You are _wicked_, Benny Boo.”

The couple alternated between giggling, shushing each other, and putting their mouths on each other. They had found an empty classroom and decided it was better not to turn on the light, they went to the end of the room, hiding from the view of the door. It didn’t take long for Ben to end up laid down on his back with Mal straddling him, they were so focused on each other that they didn’t hear the door opening.

“Gil, you are not the kind to keep secrets. What the hell is going on?” Uma’s voice could be heard in the room. Mal startled a little at the sudden voice but managed to not make any noise. She looked down and saw Ben with wide eyes and he mouthed _What do we do?_ The purple-haired girl shook her head mouthing back _I don’t know_.

“I-…I don’t know what you are talking about. Everything is fine.” They heard Gil’s voice say back. Slowly, Mal raised her head over the tables and saw that Gil had his back to them and Uma was in front of him but was completely focused on the boy.

“Talk to me. I can’t help if I don’t know what is going on.” The pirate captain said, and Mal noticed she never saw Uma act like this. When talking about the VK’s, Uma normally looked determined, never once doubting herself, now, she looked focused but worried.

“It’s…it’s Harry” Gil said and Mal lowered her head again. She saw Ben opening his mouth to say something but she put her hand on his mouth and made a shushing sound, trying to hear the conversation. “He is acting really weird. Yesterday at Evie’s he talked about water on the floor but…but he wasn’t panicking or anything, it was like it was just something he noticed. That’s…that’s very weird.” Mal frowned. That didn’t make any sense, she thought she was going to be able to find out more about what was going on with Harry but it was like they were talking in some kind of code.

“It was only water? Or did he hallucinate anything else?” Mal’s eyes got wide in shock and she couldn’t stop herself from saying _What?_ But before any sound could come out, she felt Ben’s hand on her mouth. She looked at her boyfriend and saw that he also had wide eyes.

“That’s the problem. If he doesn’t panic how do we know when he is hallucinating or not? Usually, we just know he has an episode coming because he gets distracted and then starts talking and freaking out over something that isn’t there, but if now he is just…accepting…how do we know he isn’t hallucinating all the time? How do we know if, while he is talking to us, he isn’t seeing something else? How do we know if he is even seeing _us_ at all?” The purple-haired girl could hear Gil getting more worked up the longer he talked. She slowly took her hand off Ben’s mouth and he did the same to her, both distracted trying to process what they were hearing.

In the silence that followed Gil’s statement, Mal tried to look at her memories for anything that would have made her prepared for this.

She remembered that she hadn’t really talked to Harry until they were older. She remembered vaguely her mother telling her not to talk with him but she just assumed it was because of some beef she had with Captain Hook. She had seen him in the distance sometimes, he was her first crush with his pale skin, dark hair and blue eyes, but by the time she started to want, or better, was pressured by her mother to want to make herself the leader of her own gang, she had already gone over her infatuation. During a period of time, she wondered if she should try to recruit him but by then she had already been a total bitch to Uma and she recruited him first. He was always a force to be feared, never standing down to anyone. She knew he used to act crazy, taking advantage of his father’s famous temper to scare people and she also knew he wouldn’t hesitate to do anything to protect his crew. But this? This was something big, this wasn’t just laughing randomly when he managed to make people angry, this was serious mental illness.

“This isn’t fair…” Mal looked up again startled, Ben sat up without taking her off his lap and they both got a view of the two pirates “The barrier is down, we are free, we get to do whatever the fuck we want, we don’t have to see our parents again, we get to eat good food, we get to laugh and love so why…” Uma’s voice was choked up and Mal didn’t know what to do because she was right. Her and her friends still sometimes woke up screaming with nightmares of their time on the Isle, haunted by the things that they did and the things that were done to them, but in the end, they found a new purpose in Auradon. _They found a home._ They were moving on. It was devastating to think that there were people that weren’t able to do that. “We are going to work this out, Gil.” The captain said, her voice getting back to normal. “Like we always do.” She finished. Mal looked at Ben and saw the same mix of emotions in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think, as I said I love comments!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Uma, do you know where Harry is?” He asked, and the captain opened her eyes and looked at him. Her eyes were angry but Ben could see the underlying panic there. “When was the last time you saw him?” He asked looking between them.  
“At the fencing team try-outs.” Gil said quietly, his neutral face finally breaking, showing his fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> double update!

Mal and Ben went directly to Mal’s and Evie’s room, knowing that they would be able to find at least one of the Core Four there. To their surprise, they saw Jay and Carlos coming running from the opposite direction and when the four stopped at the door, it opened to reveal Evie getting out of the room.

“We need to talk.” All of them said at the same time.

Carlos sat at his usual place on the floor, hugging Dude, while Evie and Jay stayed standing, Jay with his arms crossed and Evie with her hands on her hips, Mal was sitting on her bed and Ben was standing behind her, with his hands on her shoulders. Distantly, they heard the bell ringing but none of them moved.

“I haven’t been totally honest.” Evie was the first one to talk, making everyone else frown at her. “I don’t know if you remember this but I do.” She said and took a deep breath, still not looking directly at any of her friends. “My mother used to tell me a lot of things about how I should act and talk and behave, and I always made sure to remember every single thing she told me. I remember she telling me something…something very specific. I wasn’t sure what she meant at the time because I was too young and I guess I never really thought much of it…until recently.” She finally looked up and looked at her friends’ frowns. “She told me that I wasn’t allowed to talk to Captain Hook’s son. She said he was…a bad seed.” They frowned more at that. “She said he was insane and would drag down anyone that got close to him.” She finished and it was like the air had frozen over. “You know how he used to act at the Isle, I thought that he was just…” Evie wasn’t able to finish.

“He appeared at the try-outs today.” Carlos suddenly said making everyone sans Jay turn to him. “He looked tired and distracted. I mean at first he was his normal jerk self but then he just…seemed off.”

“Off?” Evie asked quietly.

“He was staring at nothing.” Jay said, rigidly.

“He has hallucinations.” Mal suddenly said, making everyone turn to her with wide eyes. “We heard Uma and Gil talking.” She explained. “It seemed like it’s usual for him to have…episodes from time to time.”

“So at the cafeteria and at the try-outs he was seeing something that wasn’t there.” Carlos said in shock.

“At my castle too.” Evie said. “I thought he was acting weird, he kept talking about something wrong with my pipes, some problem with water.” She explained, crossing her arms.

“I just…” Ben said suddenly, making all of them look at him. He looked stressed, he left Mal’s side and went to the middle of the room. “How didn’t anyone notice before? Gil said he normally panics or something, there’s no way no one never saw before. I mean…” He trailed off.

“They did.” Carlos said, getting up. “You want to know why none of the adults did something? They did. They told their sons and daughters to not get close to the crazy kid.” The white-haired boy said pointing to Evie. “You want to know why no one helped? Why would they? He’s not their problem.” He snarled bitterly. Ben’s shoulders sagged.

“Harry’s smart.” Jay said, looking at the others. “He knew that the rumor was around, he decided to use it to his favor.”

“They called him crazy so he started to act crazy.” Evie said, nodding in understanding.

“Turn what was a weakness into a weapon.” Mal completed, hugging herself. Ben couldn’t understand how any of this made sense to them.

“Well, but he’s not on the Isle anymore.” The King said. “He can get help here. The therapy sessions should help him, and I am sure he can get better.”

“If he is even going to the therapy sessions.” Evie said, making Ben frown at her.

“It’s mandatory for a few weeks to every VK.” He said, but Mal scoffed.

“Mandatory. Ben, you know how VK’s are. We can’t make them do anything they don’t want to. If Harry doesn’t want to go, he won’t appear on the sessions.” Mal said, and Ben got even more worked up.

“Why he wouldn’t go to someone who can help him?” He asked.

“How would he know it’s going to help him?” Carlos asked, crossing his arms. Ben frowned but before he could say anything else, Jay talked.

“He’s not going to talk to the therapist nor to any of us. I would be surprised if he talked about this with his pirate crew.” Before Ben could become more indignant, Evie raised her hands in an appalling manner.

“This discussion won’t take us anywhere.” She said and turned to Ben. “You should talk to Uma.” At their questioning looks, she explained. “She is the one he trusts the most, and you are the only one who can talk with her. Our relationship with them may have improved but there’s still too much history for us to talk about such a delicate subject with her.”

“She’s right.” Mal said, finally getting up and taking her boyfriend’s hand on hers. “Talking directly to Harry won’t take us anywhere, so we should convince Uma that he…that _they_ can get help.”

“Alright.” Ben said, sighing. “I will talk to her.”

Uma left the class determined. With Gil by her side, they went looking for their first mate. They meet up with the rest of the crew and Bonny was the only one with information.

“I saw him at the try-outs for the fencing team.” She said, making the other’s pirates frown and scoff. “I know.” She said, showing her disbelief over the situation too. “He simply showed up there and talked with Jay, Carlos, and Lonnie.”

“Jay and Carlos?” Uma asked, frowning harder.

“Yes. It was really weird to be honest.” Bonny said, rubbing her head with her hand. “I tried to hear what they were talking about before and after his test but I couldn’t hear a thing. After that, he just left running. I tried to follow him but he had already disappeared.” She finished.

“I want to talk to him.” Uma said without any details, not wanting to worry her crew more than necessary. “Forget any other appointment you have, forget your classes, finding Harry is a priority. Did you understand?” She said and everyone said yes before leaving her with Gil. She turned to her third in command. “Where do you think he could be at?”

“In his room or sleeping on any corner.” Gil said, his face serious. Uma nodded and, together, they went looking for their friend.

At first, Uma thought they would find him sleeping in an empty classroom, then she thought he could be hiding in his room. When they didn’t find him in neither place she started to hope he would appear out of nowhere, laughing at them for being so bad at finding him. After four hours of looking and founding not even sight of Harry, the captain and her crew were already stressed and ready to start to use violence to find their friend, the rain pouring outside only making them more and more nervous.

“Who was the last person to talk to him?” Uma asked, closing her fists, tense.

“Jay.” Bonny answered.

The Core Four and Ben looked for Uma the whole day but they only got glimpses of her crew during the day. They had already lost hope of being able to talk to her today when, suddenly, they saw her, Gil and other three crewmates of hers coming in their direction.

“Uma!” Ben said smiling relieved, but the captain wasn’t looking at him. She finally reached them and went directly to Jay’s personal space, Gil was right by her side while the other three stayed a little behind but still alert.

“What did you talk about with Harry?” She asked with clenched teeth. Startled, Ben noticed she seemed angry and Gil had a serious look on his face.

“What?” Jay asked, confused.

“You talked with Harry earlier today, didn’t you?” Gil said, nothing in his voice had his usual cheery feeling.

“Yeah, at the fencing team training.” Jay answered, still confused.

“What did you talk about?” Gil asked.

“Nothing.” Jay said, frowning. “He just came to make fun of us, we ended up dueling and then he left.” He hadn’t even finished speaking and Uma had pushed him to the wall on the side, the captain was half the size of the ex-thief but she caught him by surprise so he almost lost his step on the way. Mal, Evie, and Carlos rushed to Jay’s side while Ben tried to keep himself between them and the pirates. The three crew members that had stayed behind had moved to stay by the side of their captain.

“What the hell, Uma?” Mal said, shocked.

“Don’t lie to me, thief.” Uma snarled, not taking her eyes off Jay. The boy scoffed in disbelief and looked at Gil and saw a neutral look at his face.

“Let’s calm down, okay?” Ben said, but Uma still didn’t take her eyes off the VK.

“I was with him.” Carlos said, raising his hand in an appalling manner. “They really didn’t talk about anything important. Harry just wanted to teach us a lesson for sending a series of texts to him, Lonnie suggested that he participated in the try-outs so he and Jay spared with the swords. Harry won and then he left, that’s it, okay?” He explained. Uma looked at him while he spoke but her eyes still were angry. Ben looked down and noticed her hands were shaking.

“What happened?” He asked and, finally, Uma looked at him, but then she looked down and looked at Jay and Carlos again.

“Did you ask him anything?” She said between clenched teeth, but didn’t specify what kind of question she was talking about. There were a few seconds of silence, with Carlos and Jay trying to understand her question while Ben looked between all of the pirates present.

“Where is Harry?” That got a reaction, Gil seemed distressed with Ben’s question, and Uma clenched her fists and her eyes. The other pirates looked uncertain between their captain and Gil. Ben’s heart started to accelerate. “Uma, do you know where Harry is?” He asked, and the captain opened her eyes and looked at him. Her eyes were angry but Ben could see the underlying panic there. “When was the last time you saw him?” He asked looking between them.

“At the fencing team try-outs.” Gil said quietly, his neutral face finally breaking, showing his fear. “Have…have any of you seen him?” He asked, almost desperately, and after hearing what he had heard earlier from the boy and Uma, Ben felt the same.

“No.” Evie said. “We were actually looking for you guys. We need to talk.”

“That can wait.” Uma said and prepared to leave.

“We know, Uma.” Ben said, making her freeze.

“What?” The captain asked, her expression frozen trying desperately not to show much.

“We know.” Ben repeated. “About Harry.” The King saw Gil’s eyes widen and Uma shake her head lightly.

“No.”

“Yes, Uma.” He said. “And we can help, if only you…” Ben tried to say but Uma kept repeating ‘no’, not letting him finish.

“No, no, no, no.” She said. Uma looked at him, her eyes angry again. “You know _shit_.” She snarled and turned, her three crewmates following her closely. Gil stayed behind staring at them with a shocked face.

“Gil…” Ben said but Gil shook his head, making him stop talking.

“You can’t…” The pirate started but seemed to be at loss of words. He turned to leave but Jay stopped him.

“Have you looked at the forest?” He asked and Gil looked at him with wide eyes again. Gaston’s son nodded in gratitude and left after his captain.

Harry was sure that she was here, but for some reason, he seemed unable to scream for her. Hugging himself to try to protect himself from the cold, the first mate kept walking ahead hoping he would be able to reach her. _I should have put on a jacket this morning, who knew it would get this cold._

He saw her getting behind one of the trees, almost like they were playing hide-and-seek. _Maybe it was him she was hiding from all this time._

His vision was getting blurred and he noticed his steps were getting slower, looking down, Harry noticed that the grass was wet at this feet, forming little puddles of mud. He shook his leg trying to get a little of the dirt off it. _Dad hates it when I get the floor of the house dirty._

Careful not to get his feet too dirty, Harry kept on walking looking ahead again. He didn’t know for how long he kept walking but the longer he did, the more he had to be careful to not slip on the wet grass beneath him.

_Harry_

Startled he turned around and saw her.

The woman in the blue dress, her hair was dark and her eyes were dimmed as a corpse, she was wet with the rain that was falling with vengeance.

“Mom?” He asked with a small voice. He took a few steps ahead but seemed unable to reach her, he raised his hand to see if he could touch her but to his shock, his hand was dripping with blood. Harry felt his heart rare picking up as he looked at his hand.

_Where were you, Harry?_

The pirate looked up at his mother again, but kept his hand raised so he wouldn’t dirty his clothes with blood. Blood is a bitch to wash off clothes.

“I was here, mom. I was looking for you.” He answered trying to clear the water off his eyes so he could see her better.

_You left, Harry. You left me._

“No, no, no, no.” Harry repeated, shaking his head. “I didn’t…I…”

_You left me, Harry._

“NO!” Harry screamed and suddenly, he was angry. “ YOU left me.” He said, pointing angrily at the woman. “_You_ left me alone with him! He was angry because _you_ left! You said you would protect me!”

_I told to not leave the house, Harry. I told you they would take your light away._

“I didn’t…” Harry started, his anger leaving him with only a deep feeling of tiredness he was already getting used to. “You disappeared…” He whispered brokenly, feeling her disappearing before his eyes and he got desperate wishing she wouldn’t leave, not now, not again.

_You killed me, Harry._

“What?” The pirate whispered, suddenly hearing only static, his beating heart and her voice.

_You killed me, Harry. My blood is in your hands._

Desperately, the boy looked at his own hands and saw that they were still dripping in blood, but, paying closer attention he noticed that the blood was coming from elsewhere.

It was falling from the sky.

Feeling panic starting to take over, Harry looked around and saw all of the plants being covered in the rain of blood, he wasn’t able to see the ground anymore, he was seeing only red, everywhere. Red and the figure in blue that was his mother.

_You killed me, Harry._

His mother repeated and repeated and repeated and suddenly, Harry could hear the clocks too.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc_

He was running out of time. He needed to go back home or his father would get angry, he hated when Harry got late for dinner. It was Bad Form to lose dinner.

_You killed me, Harry_

He needed to talk to Uma and the crew, the Lost Revenge wouldn’t be able to survive on the rain of blood. They had just gotten the ship, it was their only sign of freedom, they couldn’t lose it.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc_

The blood wouldn’t get off no matter how many times he rubbed his hands on his clothes. He just got dirtier and dirtier. Blood was a bitch to wash off the skin, it didn’t matter how many showers he took, he still felt it on his skin.

_You killed me, Harry_

His mother was screaming painfully. His father was screaming angrily. He was screaming silently.

None of them were heard.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc _

The blood was too much. He was suffocating. He couldn’t breathe. Blood was the only thing he could see. He couldn’t swim, he was struggling in the sea of blood just like his mother.

_You killed me, Harry_

His mother was pulling his hair with one hand, screaming at his face. Her other hand was holding his chin, her nails cutting his cheeks. Her breath stank fish and blood and fire and putrid.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc_

He knew it was his fault. She was dead because of him. His father was angry because of him. His friends were doomed because of him. It was all his fault.

_YOU KILLED US ALL HARRY_

“I’m sorry…” Harry sobbed, looking down, feeling the blood run down on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She is right there.” He whispered quietly to Uma and Gil but didn’t take his eyes off his mother. “She is right there but I can’t touch her.” His mother raised her hand in his direction and he did the same but they were too far apart to touch. “Why I can’t touch her?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know....This update took too much time to come but it's finally here! I am sorry for making you wait but real life got in the way. As always your comments make me so happy and make me want to write even more!

Harry felt his hair and his clothes stuck on his skin, but he kept his eyes on the floor and on all of the blood. He knew that soon the blood would reach his face and he was going to drown, but he was too tired to care.

He didn’t know how many hours he stayed kneeling there, he just knew that his tears had dried a long time ago, and the blood kept on falling.

“Harry…” He heard the whisper calling his name but closed his eyes, not wanting to hear more accusations from his mother. He felt movement near meaning she was getting closer so he closed his eyes harder knowing she would grab his hair and force him to look up. Even if he prepared himself mentally for it, he still flinched when he felt the hands on his face.

“Harry…” He heard another whisper and reluctantly opened his eyes. To his shock, he saw Uma and Gil kneeled in front of him. They seemed to glow, without a drop of blood on them in the middle of the sea of blood.

“Uma…Gil…” He whispered brokenly.

“We were looking everywhere for you.” Uma said with a soft smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Slowly, so he could follow the movement, the captain raised her hands again and delicately touched his face. “You left and didn’t tell anyone where you were.” She finished and Harry noticed she was wet, but the liquid on her was clear, not the red that covered him.

“I didn’t leave.” Harry said, suddenly feeling desperate.

_You left me, Harry_

“I was still here, I waited here, I didn’t leave.” He said, shaking his head.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Uma said, losing her smile and holding his face more firmly. Harry breath caught in his throat at that.

“No, it’s not.” He whispered to his friends. With sadness, Harry saw Uma’s and Gil’s eyes get shinier.

He really should stop making them feel bad.

“We should get inside. You are going to get sick in this rain.” His captain said after taking a deep breath.

_Harry_

At the sound of his name, Harry turned to the side and saw his mother standing there, still with her blue dress, and wet hair covering almost all of her face.

“She is right there.” He whispered quietly to Uma and Gil but didn’t take his eyes off his mother. “She is right there but I can’t touch her.” His mother raised her hand in his direction and he did the same but they were too far apart to touch. “Why I can’t touch her?” He murmured and saw three crocodiles swimming in the sea of blood in her direction. He only watched quietly as they got closer and closer to his mother.

_You left me, Harry_

“I left her.” The first mate whispered as he saw the crocodiles attacking her body, making the blood get darker and darker.

“Who, Harry?” He heard Uma’s voice say. He turned to his captain and lowered his arm. He noticed that he had a jacket on his shoulders and saw that they belonged to Gil, it didn’t do much since it was also wet and Harry was only making it dirty with all that blood.

“You are going to get dirty.” He said and suddenly noticed that their faces were starting to get bloody too. “No no no no no no no no no no” He repeated desperately, raising his hand and alternating between trying to clean Uma’s and Gil’s faces.

“Harry.” Uma said holding his hands in hers to make him stop. “It’s only the rain.” She said and Harry frowned. He looked down and saw the sea of blood reaching his chest, _he had to get them out of there._

He looked up to tell them that when he noticed that Uma was right, their faces were wet with water only.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic_

He looked around and noticed that despite hearing the incessant ticking, there wasn’t a single clock near him. The sea of blood started to get clearer and clearer until it disappeared completely. He looked down and saw that he was wet with the rain that was still falling. He looked at his friends' faces and saw that they would stay kneeled on the rain with him for however how long it took for him to calm down.

“I-…” He started but didn’t know what to say. What do you say when your friends take care of you even after you scared the hell out of them? Repeatedly? “I am sorry…” He whispered but Uma shook her head before he had even finished speaking.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault.” She said, finally letting go of his hands.

_You killed me, Harry_

Gil got to his side and held his arm, helping him to get up. Harry got up with difficulty, his legs feeling weak, but Gil held him all the way up and didn’t let go, taking almost all of his weight. Uma got to his other side and took his other arm helping him to walk ahead.

Apparently, Harry had walked way longer than he remembered, since the way back to the school seemed to go on forever, Uma and Gil helping him every step of the way, not letting go of him for a second. The rain didn’t stop, making the way more slippery than normal, but his friends didn’t let him go.

After what seemed like hours, Harry saw the school grounds, and he noticed that there was a group of people standing there. He felt Uma and Gil tensing when they saw the people but they kept on walking, taking the first mate with them. The closer they got, the people started to get more recognizable. He saw the faces of his crewmates and thought about smiling to show he was still alive but he didn’t have the energy to do so. Suddenly Uma left his side and another person took her place by his side, making him more comfortable since this new person was almost the same size as Gil. His vision blurry, Harry tried to recognize the person by his side but he could only see the long brown hair.

When they finally stepped on the school grounds, Harry noticed a blur of blue, purple and white hair but, before he could make out who it belonged to, the room started to tilt sideways. He felt himself slipping and, before the room got dark, he heard only one thing.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc_

When Gil suggested they should check the forest Uma was skeptical, but they had checked everywhere besides the forest so to the woods they went.

When they found her first mate kneeling on the rain Uma didn’t know who to thank, yet the situation was worse than she imagined.

Her friend’s eyes were closed, even when she called his name and he was shaking, seemingly numb to anything. Uma kneeled in front of him, Gil following right after.

Uma reached with her hands and touched his face, shockingly, he flinched at that, making her hesitate.

“Harry…” Gil whispered and finally, _finally_, Harry opened his eyes. His eyes were red and seemed unfocused even as he looked at them.

“Uma…Gil…” Harry whispered brokenly. Uma let go of a breath she didn’t know she was holding as it appeared it had been ages since she had last heard his voice.

“We were looking everywhere for you.” She said, trying to smile to calm her friend and her heart. Slowly, so he could follow her movement, she raised her hands again and delicately touched his face, noticing for the first time he had little cuts on his cheeks. “You left and didn’t tell anyone where you were.” She finished, still trying to smile but it seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

“I didn’t leave.” Harry said, suddenly sounding desperate. “I was still here, I waited here, I didn’t leave.” He shook his head, his eyes getting that distant and manic look that Uma was starting to hate.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” She said trying to calm him, holding his face more firmly.

“No, it’s not.” He whispered and Uma felt her heart breaking.

“We should get inside.” She said so she wouldn’t think of that now. Now, she had to get them out of the rain. “You are going to get sick in this rain.”

Suddenly Harry looked to the side and it was Uma’s turn to get desperate, she tried to turn his head with her hands to make him look at her again while saying his name, but he didn’t relent.

“She is right there.” He whispered quietly and Uma couldn’t hold back her sob. Still, with a foolish hope she thought she had lost a long time ago, she looked at the same direction he was looking at but saw nothing. “She is right there but I can’t touch her.” Harry said and raised his hand as if to reach someone. Uma frowned, he had never seen a woman before, at least he had never said anything about a woman before. “Why can’t I touch her?” He asked, sounding like a little kid and Uma really couldn’t take any of this anymore, she felt her hands slipping from his face to hold her middle as she tried to calm down. Distantly she saw Gil take off his jacket and put it over Harry’s shoulders, in a weak attempt to shield a little of the rain that soaked her first mate. “I left her.” That made her stop. Harry wasn’t the kind to abandon people, he was loyal, never giving up on those he trusted. He waited for those long months that she was swimming outside the barrier, and she knew he never once doubted she would come back for him, just like he would never leave her for long.

“Who, Harry?” She asked, wanting to know who he thought he had left behind. Her friend turned to her and lowered his arm, he looked at the jacket on his shoulders and frowned slightly.

“You are going to get dirty.” He said and looked up again. Suddenly his eyes widened a little and he started to shake his head. “No no no no no no no no no no” He raised his hand and started to rub Uma’s and Gil’s faces like he was trying to get something out of it.

“Harry” Uma said, holding Harry’s hands in hers to make him stop, she noticed that he had blood under his nails that not even the rain had washed off, which explained the cuts on his face “It’s only the rain” She said and he frowned. He looked down for a few seconds and opened his mouth to say something but seemed to change his mind when he saw their faces. His eyes were losing the manic look as he looked around slowly as if looking for something, he looked down again and finally looked at them again. Uma was holding her breath and she saw that Gil was rigid beside her.

“I…I am sorry.” He whispered and Uma’s shoulders sagged, she shook her head.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault.” She said, finally letting go of his hand and nodding at Gil. Gaston’s son helped Harry to get up and Uma got to his other side when he was up, trying to help but knowing her height wouldn’t help to keep the balance.

The way back was long and Uma thanked all of Heavens and Seas when they finally saw the school grounds. They walked in direction of the safe place but she and Gil hesitated when they saw that the Core Four and the King were standing there with her crew. She kept walking only because she knew they had to get out of the rain, yet she was cursing silently the five in her head.

Suddenly, Jay came running in her direction and took Harry’s arm from her. The captain was ready to start an argument when she noticed that Jay’s height helped to keep Harry standing. Still, she didn’t leave their side until they made it to the sheeted place. The other crew members were ready to take Harry out of Jay's grip and Uma saw The Core Four and Ben open the mouth to speak at the same time, already increasing her headache, when, suddenly, Harry went limp on Jay’s and Gil’s hold.

Jay and Gil slowly got him down on the floor and Uma pushed Jay to the side so she could kneel before her friend.

“Harry” She said softly while shaking his head lightly, when her hands touched his face she noticed what she hadn’t noticed in the forest. “He’s burning up.” She said, still trying to make him wake up.

“We have to take him to the infirmary.” Ben said, kneeling beside her.

“What?” She said, gripping Harry’s shirt, suddenly scared he would be taken away from her hands.

“He needs medical attention.” Ben said, looking at her eyes and Uma knew he meant it in more ways than one.

“Uma.” Gil said, making her turn to him when she took to long to respond to the King. “He’s right.” He said and she saw the determination on his eyes, she knew that if she didn’t agree he would ignore her orders and take him to the infirmary anyway.

“Okay.” She said and cleaned her throat to get her voice to its usual strength. “Jonas and Gil, get him up. We are taking him to the infirmary.” They nodded and didn’t lose time in raising the boy as if he weighed nothing. They took him in the direction of the infirmary and Uma followed closely behind. Distantly she noticed that Mal and her friends followed suit, but she was too worried about something else at the moment.

When they arrived at the infirmary, four nurses took Harry away from them and said they had to wait outside.

Afterwards there was only silence, Uma and her crew standing tense on one side of the room and Mal and her friends standing tense on the other side.

“Uma…” Ben said softly.

“No.” The captain said without looking up. She heard a sigh on the other side of the room but she still didn’t look at them.

“Everything is going to be okay.” The King said, trying to appeal her nerves but Uma looked up, furious, at him.

“Okay?” She scoffed. “Okay? We were going to be okay if we hadn’t grown up on that damn island in the first place.” She said bitterly.

“You know that’s not his fault.” Mal said and Uma got angrier.

“It’s not his fault? So whose fault it is, uh? Tell me Mal, whose fault it is that your mother burned you when you didn’t reach her expectations? Whose fault it is that Evie’s mother made her starve when she thought she was gaining 'too much' weight? Whose fault it is that Jay’s father made him sleep outside when he didn’t get goods for his shop? Whose fault it is that Carlos’s mom treated him like a slave?” On the Isle people looked the other way when they heard the abuse the kids were going through but not Uma. Uma heard every word, she made sure to remember everything that happened to fuel her anger and determination to leave that cursed place. She felt her voice losing its strength and her eyes starting to water but she would be damned if she lost it in front of them. “Whose fault it is that Gil’s father screamed at him every day for simply existing? Whose fault it is that my mother didn’t look at my face if it wasn’t to order me around at her restaurant?” Her voice cracked but she kept on. “Whose fault it is that Harry’s father locked him up on the deposit where he kept his clocks and now he hears it every day?” Uma looked at the VK’s shocked faces but didn’t stop. “Whose fault it is that Harry sees things that are not real, even here, in Auradon? Whose fault it is that all of our cries and screams of help were muffled by a fucking magic barrier?” She finished breathing hard.

“Ours.” A voice answered, startling every kid in the room. They turned and saw Fairy Godmother standing on the entrance with a sad look on her face. “The fault lies with every Auradon citizen that didn’t raise a finger to do something to stop the injustice that was committed against every single one of you. And for that, we are sorry.” She said, and Uma rubbed her hand against her face to clean her tears and crossed her arms. “And we know that sorry is not enough.” She continued and took a step into the room, looking around at all of the faces standing there.

“I was looking for you to say that I decided to relent and let you use a weekday to talk about bullying with the other VK’s.” Fairy Godmother said to the shock of Evie, Mal, Uma, and Ben. They nodded slightly at her in understanding. “But it seems I stumbled into something else of grave importance.” She looked around again and made a headcount. “I assume something happened with Harrison.”

“He stood in the rain for too long so he got a fever.” Uma said quietly ignoring the looks the others sent her way.

“Oh, my dear.” Fairy Godmother said after a few seconds of silence. “I know I can’t change the way you feel about Auradon overnight, but sometimes we need a leap of faith.” She said and Uma looked at her eyes and saw the sincerity there.

“You won’t…” Gil started making everyone turn to him. “You won’t take him away, will you?” He asked fearfully. The woman frowned slightly.

“What do you mean, honey?” She asked, softly and Gil took a step in her direction. He exchanged a fast look with his captain and turned again to her.

“You won’t send Harry back to the Isle, will you?” He asked with a low voice, almost scared to talk aloud.

“What? No.” Ben answered, seemingly repulsed at the idea. “We won’t send you back to the Isle ever again.” He finished but he could see that the pirates were still suspicious. “The barrier is down forever and the bridge is guarded only so the villains that are still unrepentant can’t leave. No VK is going to be sent there again, not even if you commit a crime.” Ben said firmly. The pirates relaxed a little at that but they still seemed hesitant.

“What about all of you go rest for now.” Fairy Godmother said, clapping her hands once, her soft smile in place. “I will talk with Harrrison when he wakes up.” She said and continued when she noticed the pirates opening their mouths to protest. “It’s unfair to put you in a position to talk for him, he gets to have a say in what happens. Don’t worry, I will let you know when he wakes up so you can come see him after we talk.” She finished and saw all of them hesitant to leave. The Core Four and Ben were the first ones, and after a nod from Uma, the pirate crew followed them.

Soon it was only Uma and Gil behind with Fairy Godmother. The woman walked to the captain and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Go, dear.” She said and nodded at Gil too. “You have to dry yourselves or you will get sick too.” Uma was determined to not look at the headmistress, looking instead at the door where they had taken Harry. “You deserve some rest too.” Fairy Godmother said softly. “It gets tiring to worry about everyone.”

“It’s not a burden.” Uma said suddenly.

“Oh, I know honey.” She said, making the other finally look up at her. “But it’s still tiring.” She saw the girl take a deep breath and finally nod, after a quick look around to make sure Harry wasn’t going to suddenly get out of the room, the captain left with her third in command.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! Any comment is welcome, and I might take some time to answer but believe me, I keep them open so I can look at them all the time to make myself feel better lol


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What is the last thing you remember?” The woman asked, not hesitating at his brusque manner and Harry frowned at the question. It should be an easy question but he had a hard time answering it.
> 
> “I…” He started and felt like his head was really killing him. “I went to talk with Jay and Carlos.” He remembered vaguely that he had talked with both VK’s but that was it. “Where am I?” He repeated, needing to know, at least, what was going on now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am alive muahahahhaha

Harry felt like there was a hammer inside his head and he hadn’t even opened his eyes yet, grunting in discomfort, he slowly opened his eyes and his vision was blurry and his head was reeling. He tried to focus but it was like he was underwater and when he turned and saw the figure with the blue dress, he was sure he had drowned.

“Mom?” He murmured still trying to focus on something, _anything_.

“I am afraid not, my dear.” The figure answered in a voice way more sweet than he was used to. He hummed in answer, but not really listening to what she said. He looked up and saw that the white ceiling was still spinning a little.

“You should rest, honey. Your fever hasn’t gone down yet.” The sweet voice said and Harry smiled despite himself.

“You are sooo worried…” The pirate mumbled and laughed softly. His mom was so different from the other villains on the Isle, she was always worried about him.

“Of course.” The sweet voice answered. “I and your friends were. You gave them all quite a scare.” At that, Harry frowned.

“I don’t have friends” He mumbled. He always made sure to follow his mother's words and she had said to him to not leave the house so he hadn’t left the house, how was he supposed to make friends if he never left the house? That made him remember something and suddenly he turned to the figure beside him and raised his hand to touch it. “I didn’t leave you.” He said trying to clear his vision but everything was swimming. And then, _then_ she touched his hand and Harry felt like he could die right there and he would be happy. “I didn’t leave you…” He whispered again and felt the darkness pulling him under. He didn’t fight it, he faced it with a smile on his face.

When Harry woke up again he had a terrible headache and no recollection of how he had ended up there. He grunted when he raised to sit up and got even more worried when he couldn’t remember even which day it was.

“Take it easy, honey.” A voice came together with a pair of hands helping him get comfortable sitting on the pillows. After settling down, Harry looked up and was surprised to see Fairy Godmother.  
“Where am I?” He asked skipping any pleasantries.

“What is the last thing you remember?” The woman asked, not hesitating at his brusque manner and Harry frowned at the question. It should be an easy question but he had a hard time answering it.

“I…” He started and felt like his head was really killing him. “I went to talk with Jay and Carlos.” He remembered vaguely that he had talked with both VK’s but that was it. “Where am I?” He repeated, needing to know, at least, what was going on now.

“In the medical ward.” She answered and Harry's heart stopped. He looked to the sides with wide eyes and saw the white walls exactly how he had seen on the movies he had watched with the crew when all of them huddled up on Harry’s room. He had nightmares after seeing that room for the first time on the tv, the room where they took when people ‘weren’t feeling well’, the room where these people, were locked away for good. This room was second most featured place on Harry’s nightmares, the Isle being the first.

“I have to get out of here.” He mumbled and started to struggle with his blanket. With a start he noticed he was much weaker than he thought, making his movements slow and sloppy as if he had broken in his father’s liquor cabinet again.

“Calm down, honey. You haven’t got all your strength back yet.” The woman said putting her hands on his shoulders again, this time Harry tried to fight off the woman but she was stronger than him at the moment so, with a sigh, the boy settled down again. “You need to rest and stay laid down for a while”

“What happened?” Harry asked and he saw the moment that the woman’s eyes filled with that pity/sadness/tiredness look that she had almost every time she talked with a VK.

“You passed out after standing in the rain for too long. You had a very high fever so your friends took you here.” She explained and Harry felt his panic coming back, he didn’t remember anything she was talking about. He remembered Jay’s and Carlos’s faces when he talked to them _(disgust, anger)_ but not what they talked about, he had left the conversation in a hurry after having a fight with Jay _(they fought with swords?)_, but he didn’t remember why he left.

“Honey?” Fairy Godmother's voice broke through his panic, trying to control the look on his face, he faced her. “It’s okay.” She was looking at him in the eyes and Harry felt like she was staring at his soul. “If you still don’t remember what happened, you can ask your friends to fill you in on the details.” She said like it was the easiest thing in the world.

“I…” He started but he didn’t know what to say so he closed his mouth. _Close your mouth lad, ya look like dead fish when ya stay like that._ Suddenly, Harry saw a figure on the corner of his eye so he turned. His mother was standing there, soaking wet, her dress sticking on her skin, her hair covering her blurry face, only her smile was clear.

“Harrison.” Fairy Godmother said and Harry forced himself to look away, the headmistress didn’t look at the direction he was looking at so that meant either two things: or she already knew that his mother was standing there, or his mother wasn’t there at all. The boy felt his breath getting faster with either possibility. “Calm down honey, everything is going to be okay.” She said and Harry felt his mother’s breath on his neck. He closed his eyes to try to concentrate on not flinching when he felt the cold and wet hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly, a much warmer hand was on his cheek, making him open his eyes, startled. Fairy Godmother was closer to him and was looking more serious than Harry had ever seen her.

“It’s only you and me here, dear.” Harry felt his breath stop altogether.

“W-what?” He asked, almost in a whisper. Fairy Godmother smiled sadly at him and her thumb caressed his cheek lightly.

“I think we need to talk.” She said letting go of his face and Harry held himself back from following her hand. The boy cleared his throat and blinked fast to get the moisture out of his eyes.

“About what?” He asked, looking down at his hands.

“You haven’t been going to your therapy sessions.” The woman said holding her hands in front of her body.

“Wasn’t feeling like it.” Harry said without looking up and stifled a yawn.

“It’s very important, honey. It can help you.” She said and sighed when even then the boy didn’t look up. “It can help you feel better. It can help you understand yourself.” Fairy Godmother finished kindly.

“Help understand what?” Harry said, feeling angry. He looked up and stared at the woman in the eyes, ignoring the flowing water falling from the walls. “That I am crazy? I don’t need someone else to tell me that.” He smiled the sharp smile that always made all of the kids of the Isle run in the other direction, but Fairy Godmother didn’t look affected by it at all.

“You are not crazy, Harrison.” She said and Harry laughed out loud.

“What do you call seeing things…people that aren’t real?” The woman didn’t flinch at that, only confirming Harry’s suspicions that she already knew about it somehow.

“Mental illness.” Fairy Godmother said without hesitation and Harry raised an eyebrow.

“Same thing.” The boy said, shrugging. “It’s something that makes me get out of control and makes you want to lock me up.”

“I don’t want to lock you up.” She said and Harry scoffed.

“Doubt you will say that when I end up stabbing one of the precious royals of Auradon”

“I will know that it won’t be your fault.” She said and pushed a chair to sit by his side.

“Of course it’s going to be my fault, I will be the one holding the knife.” Harry said clenching his fists.

“But you won’t know what you are doing.” Fairy Godmother said calmly.

“I am not an _invalid_.” Harry spoke between clenched teeth.

“Of course you aren’t, honey.” The woman said with sadness in her eyes again. “You are a kid who’s been through too much. A kid that’s sick.”

“Sick.” Harry said scoffing again. “You say that like I have the flu and I just have to take medicine and everything will be fine.”

“No, it’s more complicated than that. You won’t be cured but things can get better, easier.” Harry looked up at her. “You can talk. Talk to the therapist and she can help process everything that happened with you, she can help you make some peace with it and, if necessary, she can give you some medication that will help to make you feel better.” She said and Harry could see in her eyes that she meant it, but he couldn’t let himself hope. It was too good to be true. A chance to get better, a light at the end of this piece of shit of a tunnel.

“Talk about what?” He asked looking down at his bloody hands again.

“Talk, for example, about what you see.” Fairy Godmother said and Harry looked up to the woman standing at the foot of his bed. Her dark hair falling wet over her face and body, her blue dress, a nightdress with details of lace on the neckline, also dripping water on the floor. Her eyes were gone leaving two pits of darkness and blood in its place. She opened her mouth to say something but only water got out. Even without being able to talk or to see, her message was as clear as the whispers on Harry’s head.

_It’s your fault._

“Crocodiles.” Harry answered Fairy Godmother and turned to look at her. The woman inclined her head to the side and smiled sadly. She knew he wasn’t telling her everything.

“You need to open up honey. That’s the only way we can help you.” Harry looked down and didn’t say anything else. “Tell me what I can do to gain your trust.” She said making the boy look up again. He knew she meant it, he could ask her anything and she would do her best to make it happen. The answer was easy.

“My father.” He said almost in a whisper but Fairy Godmother listened clearly. “He…I don’t want to see him again.” Harry finished scared that she would tell him no, that his father had every right to be as free as him, that his father was already strolling the streets of Auradon in search of his only son.

“Then it’s done.” Fairy Godmother said making Harry’s breathe stop and his eyes widen. He raised his head in surprise and she was looking at him without any hesitation. “You have my word that Captain Hook won’t take a step in Auradon until you are ready to see him again. And if that never happens, he will stay on the Isle.” The woman finished and Harry’s shoulders dropped its tension.

“You will keep him locked up there just because I asked you to?” The pirate asked still trying to assimilate what was happening.

“That’s what we are doing, honey.” She said and at Harry’s confused face, continued. “The compulsory therapy sessions happen so we can receive a report from the therapist if we should or shouldn’t let you villain’s kids meet your parents again. Of course, she respects your privacy and doesn’t talk about anything you say on the sessions, she only gives us a yes or no answer about this subject. Most cases are not permanent, some kids get ready later, and even need, to confront their parents, some want them to live here or simply don’t want to lose contact with them. We just try to do what’s best for the mental health of you, kids.” She explained. “We knew all of you wouldn’t talk honestly to us about this at first so we decided this was the best method, we keep it a secret so no kid feels influenced or pressured about it.” She finished and Harry nodded slightly but didn’t say anything else nor looked at the woman again.

“I won’t go back on my word even if you don’t talk to the therapist but I really think you should do it. The intention behind the compulsory sessions may be so we can decide what happens to the villains but the therapy can help all of you in other ways too.” Fairy Godmother said after a few seconds of silence. “Can you promise me you will at least think about it?” She asked and Harry nodded without looking up.

The woman put her hand briefly on top of his before getting up and going to the door, but stopped before she reached it.

“Your friends are waiting outside, they were worried sick about you.”

“Who?” Harry asked still not looking at her.

“When I last checked all of your pirate friends, Jay, Carlos, Mal, Evie, and Ben were waiting there.” At the last five names, Harry stiffed. Sensing his discomfort, the woman talked again. “I will tell them you still need to rest and can’t see them now.” Harry relaxed slightly and the woman put her hand on the door handle, but before she opened it, she turned to the boy one last time. “You should talk to them. When you are ready. They only want what’s best for you.” She left closing the door quietly behind herself.

With a sigh, Harry looked up and saw that he was alone in his room. No water, no crocodile, no one. _Nothing._

He was truly alone.

The boy curled into himself and closed his eyes, praying for a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *zombie voice* comments....comments....


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You are scared.” Ben said, ending the silence that had fallen upon them. Uma turned to him and scoffed.
> 
> “I am not scared.” She lied, crossing her arms.
> 
> “Yes, you are. And that’s okay.” Mal said looking down, Uma turned to the purple-haired girl that, after a few moments, raised her head to look at Uma. “We know that is scary to let anyone see our vulnerability but there is strength in that. It’s not weakness. There is strength in admitting that you can’t solve everything by yourself.” The queen finished and Uma started fidgeting, not being able to look at any of them any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, I am alive, who knew.  
Sorry for the long wait but I am finally on vacation from the uni so more time to write, yay

Uma woke up with the sound of the door closing. She raised her head from Gil’s shoulder and put her hand on her neck trying to relieve some of the pain she got from having fallen asleep on that position, but her eyes were focused on the woman that had just left the room where Harry was.

“He still needs to rest.” Fairy Godmother said, alternating to look at every person present. “The nurse will let you know when he is ready to have visitors.” With a smile, the headmistress turned and left.

It was a lie, Uma knew, and, with a quick look at Gil, she saw that he knew it too.

Harry had walked away with a smile on his face from a stab, once. He only let his guard down when he was absolutely sure he was safe, and it was impossible that he would feel safe in the infirmary, a place he had never been before.

Still, Uma felt relief wash over her. She still didn’t know what she was going to say when she finally faced him. Was she supposed to act like nothing happened? Was she supposed to confront him? Comfort him? And immediately, she felt guilty, how could she be relieved when Harry was going through…_everything_.

It didn’t matter now, Harry was still behind that door, if the nurses or Fairy Godmother decided he should stay alone or if Harry himself wanted the solitude, Uma didn’t know.

Suddenly, the captain felt a hand on her shoulder and she relaxed into it. Gil rubbed her arm a little and then put his arm behind her neck, Uma appreciated the calming gesture and showed her gratitude by resting her head on his shoulder again and closing her eyes.

“Why are you still here?” Jonas's voice ringed out of nowhere, making Uma open her eyes. When the girl noticed who he was talking to she let out a sigh, it was a matter of time before someone of her crew snapped about that.

The Core Four seemed to not know what to say at that and Ben straighten his back in a way that no one could _not_ notice that he had royal blood in him.

“We are worried.” He answered.

“You feel guilty. It’s different.” Uma said tiredly, she really didn’t want to deal with this right now, her mind wanted to keep worrying over her first mate.

“We really want to know if everything is okay, not only with Harry but with you guys as well.” Evie said, her voice calm.

“We are fine.” Uma answered with a snarl. “But you know what would make us feel better? If you lot didn’t stay breathing on the back of our necks like you did for the last few days.” Ben seemed a little taken aback at that but the other VK’s were already used to it.

“Look, Uma…” Carlos started, resting his arms on his knees. “I know we all have a history, but we did work together and we did get closer, you wanting to admit it or not.” The captain opened her mouth to refute it but the boy kept going. “I know you are on defensive right now, but I think you are forgetting we are also from the Isle. We know what that place…_our parents_ did do to us…” Cruella’s son raised his head and looked at the pirate captain in the eyes. “We may not be going through the exact same situation as Harry, but we know what being haunted feels like.”

Uma didn’t know what to say to that. Carlos was right, all of them had experienced trauma and were still feeling the consequences of it. But nightmares were not the same as hallucinations, she couldn’t hug Harry until he calmed down forever, someday it would be too much, her willpower would not be enough to help her friend. And _that_ thought…that thought…

“You are scared.” Ben said, ending the silence that had fallen upon them. Uma turned to him and scoffed.

“I am not scared.” She lied, crossing her arms.

“Yes, you are. And that’s okay.” Mal said looking down, Uma turned to the purple-haired girl that, after a few moments, raised her head to look at Uma. “We know that is scary to let anyone see our vulnerability but there is strength in that. It’s not weakness. There is strength in admitting that you can’t solve everything by yourself.” The queen finished and Uma started fidgeting, not being able to look at any of them any longer.

“We…” Gil started. The third in command had noticed the discomfort of his captain, and his instinct was saying louder than any determination to get help. “We know how to deal with it.” He said even if he himself didn’t believe it.

“No.” Uma said suddenly, making everyone in the room turn to her. “We dealt with it in the only way we knew how.” She said without looking up. “We dealt with it because it was the only thing we could do. Now…now I’m…I’m scared that we somehow just made it worse.” The captain said and looked at the Core Four and Ben. Then she looked at the members of her crew that were present and she saw the same fear in their eyes, she stopped when she looked at Gil’s eyes. “What if it’s our fault that things are like this now? What if we could have done more, could have been better?”

“You said it yourself.” Ben said. “You did what you could. You shouldn’t feel responsible for any of this.”

“Then who’s fault is it?” Uma asked turning to them again while Gil put his hand over hers, offering his silent support.

“His piece of shit of a father.” Jay answered, surprising the captain. “If you really want to blame anyone, then he is the one to blame.”

The captain nodded silently and tightened her hold on Gil’s hand.

“What…what do we do then?” Gil asked, his voice shaking a little.

“Talk to Harry.” Evie said, getting on the edge of her seat. “Convince him to get help.” Uma scoffed lightly.

“Harry is the most stubborn person I know.” Uma said. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds before continuing. “But you are right. Harry needs help. He needs help that we can’t offer to him alone, he needs someone who knows what they are doing and know how to deal with this.”

“Captain…” Bonnie said, uncertainly. The captain turned to her and the rest of her crew and she saw the doubt on their eyes. All of them, her included, had left when Fairy Godmother had asked them to but came back a few minutes after and had not left that room since them.

“Remember what happened when you first discovered what was going on with Harry?” Uma started, making her crew members frown. She knew it was impossible that they had forgotten that hateful day, but even so, she explained it. “He had knocked Gil out, thought Captain Hook was on the ship and he…he almost killed Freddie.” She turned to the girl in question, who looked down. “That day I explained what was going on with him, I told you that that could happen again. Do you remember what I asked all of you then?” The captain asked.

“You asked if our loyalty to you and Harry extended to deal with that.” Bonnie answered. “You said that if the answer was no then we should leave the Lost Revenge.”

“And none of you left.” Uma said nodding. “That day you promised that you would do anything to help Harry. Now, the way we can help him is by asking for help.”

“But, captain…” Jonas said hesitantly. “Do you trust them?” He asked pointing vaguely at the Core Four’s direction. Uma turned their way, looked at the eyes of the ones she was used to snarl at, the ones she fought so hard so she could make her mother look at her, the ones she fought against so she could get a better life, the ones she fought _with_ so she could save the whole kingdom.

“No.” She said and saw their shoulder’s drop. “But I am trying to.”

Saying Harry was having the worst time of his life was an understatement. He felt like he had slept for two minutes but two days had already passed. If he had the capacity to give a fuck at the moment, he would be worried that he had missed so many classes, but as it was, he just had an inexplicable need to eat that damn pizza with pineapple that Gil had told him about what seemed like ages ago.

The medical ward had horrible food, and Harry was willing to say that it was almost worse than the food on the Isle. But again, at least the food here didn’t have flies on it, so maybe he was just getting soft after living in Auradon.

Aside from the two nurses that alternated when bringing him food, Harry talked with no one else, not being able to gather the courage to tell the nurses to let his friends in. They had probably left to their dorms by now and he tried to destroy the little flash of hurt at the thought, he couldn’t blame them for leaving, he was the one who too much of a coward to talk. Fairy Godmother’s words kept circling on his head, but he wasn’t sure what he would do about it yet.

In theory, it seemed so easy.

_Talk._

But there was so much that he didn’t know how to say, _couldn’t_ say.

What was necessary and what was oversharing? What was asking for help and what was being dramatic? What was calming their nerves and what was adding to their burdens?

Would they still treat him the same way, would they still look at him the same way? Would they still feel the same way?

_Nut-job of a son._

His father’s voice on his head said.

_You killed me._

His mother’s voice on his head said.

There were already too many people talking, why would he add to it?

Harry put on his clothes that had been thoroughly washed by the nurses and he was sure they were never that clean before. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw that even if he still felt like shit, his reflection showed he looked a little better than the last time he bothered to check himself up. Still, Harry opened the tap and washed his face to see if he could get some of his tiredness out of his system.

Drying his face roughly with a towel, the boy looked at himself in the mirror again and desperately tried to look past the lost look on his eyes.

_How could anyone look at him and think he was anything but lost?_

He trained his sharp smile a few times, making sure he could use it if the situation called for it and, with a sigh, left the bathroom and went to the door.

He was being discharged with the serious promise that he should drink water and sleep, and Harry was ready to promise anything if it meant he could leave this place. The white walls still gave him the creeps.

When Harry reached what he assumed was the waiting room, he stopped.

His captain was there, sleeping with her head in Gil’s shoulder, who was snoring loudly. In front of them was Evie, sleeping as graciously as she could when sleeping on a chair, using Jay’s coat as a blanket. None of the three woke with the sound of the door closing and suddenly Harry was unsure of what to do, if he should just leave or wake them.

After a few seconds standing at the door, the boy walked softly until he reached the couch where Uma and Gil were still asleep and sat down at his captain’s side. With a sigh, he laid back on it and looked at his hands. He wasn’t shaking nor he had blood on it but still, he felt like he wasn’t ready to talk to his friends.

Harry looked up and noted the absence of clocks in the waiting room, maybe so the people waiting wouldn’t notice if they were waiting for too long. Putting his hand in his pocket, the first mate took out his watch that he had asked desperately to the nurses to not throw away even if they said it was broken. He didn’t know why he kept the damn thing, it wasn’t a gift with emotional importance nor belonged to someone he cared about. It was just the fucking clock his father had put on his pocket to haunt him. Maybe Captain Hook knew he would keep the damn thing even when he left the Isle, knew it would haunt him until the day he died.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic_

Suddenly, Harry heard soft steps coming his way, raising his head he saw Ben and Carlos entering the room. Both boys stopped walking when they saw Harry and they stayed on a weird stare competition where neither boy knew what to say. Harry saw Ben’s eyes look down at the watch on his hand and he was fast on pocketing it again. With a shake of his head, Harry stood up and put on his sharp smile, which, by the little flinch Carlos’s gave, was on point.

“Hope you are here to give me the notes of the classes I missed.” Harry loudly with undeniable sarcasm on his voice. His voice made Uma, Gil and Evie startle awake.

“Harry” Uma said, standing up when she noticed her friend standing in front of her. Harry turned to his captain and winked, but her expression didn’t change. Not wanting to have any kind of important conversation in this place, Harry turned to the two boys again.

“Well, contrary to popular belief, I do shower.” He said suddenly, clapping his hands once. “And I need one right now.” Not wanting to give them much time to answer, Harry bowed down exaggeratedly at Ben and left.

He didn’t manage to even get to the halls that lead to the dorms before he heard footsteps following him but he kept on walking, keeping a steady pace, trying to not show he was running away.

“Harry, wait.” His captain’s voice sounded but he didn’t turn like he normally would have.

“I really need that shower cap’.” Harry said without stopping and wishing for his dorm room to appear already.

“Yeah? Well, but we need to talk.” Uma said losing her patience, she held his arm making it impossible for him to keep walking without appearing to be harsh or in a hurry.

“Talk about what?” He said trying to make her say it for the simple reason that he knew she wouldn’t be able to do it. As predicted, the pirate captain opened her mouth but closed it before she could say anything. Uma looked around her and let go of her first mate’s arm.

“Not here.” She said and looked at him, clearly indicating her intentions of talking to him the second they put a foot in his room. Harry didn’t know what to say to make her just _let it go_ without seeming to be running from…_everything_, so it was his turn to open his mouth without words.

He tried a few times to say something but nothing seemed right and by the raised eyebrow on Uma’s face she knew he couldn’t avoid it now. Before Uma could declare her victory another person appeared, making both of them turn.

“Harry.” Jay said, getting closer calmly. “Fairy Godmother is looking for you.” Harry tried to hide his happiness at the interruption but his captain couldn’t do the same with her annoyance.

“We are in the middle of something right now.” She said between clenched teeth. Jay shrugged nonchalantly and Harry felt Uma trying to kill him with her mind.

“She said it was urgent.” Uma was fuming but seemed to calm herself down with a deep breath. She turned to Harry and looked at his eyed and Harry _wanted _and _didn’t want_ desperately know what she was seeing in him.

“We will talk later” She said, no, _ordered_. With a last angry look at Jay, she turned and left.

“Well…” Harry said after she left his sight. “Where our darling headmistress wants to meet?” He said noticing his accent was getting thicker, not on purpose, but because he was still tired.

“Nowhere.” Jafar’s son said and Harry turned to look at him, unable to hide his surprise. The other boy raised an eyebrow, still not showing much care to the situation at hand. “You seemed to need an out of that conversation.” He shrugged again. Harry frowned at him not knowing what to do with this turn of events.

“You wanted to help?” The pirate asked incredulously.

“I-…” He started but didn’t finish and for the first time, Harry noticed that Jay didn’t look at him at any moment of this conversation. Suddenly, Harry felt his anger rising.

“I don’t need your pity.” Harry said darkly but still the other didn’t look at him, Jay just clenched his jaw and kept staring at one point on the wall in front of them.

“I know, and I am not offering any.” He finally said, making Harry raise his eyebrow in confusion. “I think you should talk about…whatever you need to talk about when you are ready to.” He finished and looked at Harry from the corner of his eye to see his reaction but Harry kept his face neutral. After noticing that the pirate wouldn’t speak, Jay took a deep breath and talked again. “It’s just….I saw you. The other day.”

Harry didn’t know which day he was talking about but considering his last few days _(weeks months years life)_ it could be anything. Finally, the VK turned to Harry and looked at him.

“I just think you should think about talking to them sooner rather than later.” He finished and left before Harry could say anything else, but in reality, it was better this way because Harry didn’t know what to say to that anyway.

Harry walked to his room numbly, his thoughts taking over again. Everyone seemed so sure that taking would make everything better but, really, what he was supposed to talk about? There was so much going through his head, most of it he didn’t even want to think about much less talk. They all knew he had hallucinations already, what else was there to talk about? They knew he was insane, they knew his father was an arse and they knew the Isle was a fucked up place, what else could he tell them?

_You killed me_

Most of what was going through his head he didn’t even understand himself. It was like he couldn’t differentiate between his thoughts and the voices and he began to think a long time ago that perhaps they were one and the same.

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc_

Then, maybe, he should stop thinking about his time running out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think!! Your comments give me life!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moment Harry stepped out of his class and saw Mal, Ben, and Evie coming in his direction he thought he was going to lose it for real this time. Not caring if the avoidance was obvious, Harry simply turned and walked the other way, even so, he could hear the girls’ heels indicating that they were not far behind.
> 
> Harry rushed his steps and turned the corner hoping to reach his class already but since his day was going wonderfully so far, Gil and Uma were leaning on the door of his Magical Creatures class at the end of the hall. Feeling his heart going faster Harry noticed that, intentionally or not, he was ambushed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New year, new me. A new me that updates for a change.

Running away from Uma and his friends was easier than he thought it would be. It was like his friends also didn’t know _what to do_ with him so they weren’t really putting their heart on ambushing him.

Avoiding the Core Four and King Ben was another story.

Every corner he turned they were there, not ambushing him or anything, but simply being so _goddamn nice_. Even Mal was offering to accompany him to his classes and, at first, he didn’t know what to do with it, but now, he started making a game out of it: how long it took to make the Core Four so mad that they left him alone?

Mal was the easiest, so she, noticing what he was doing, started to approach him with Evie, who was one of the hardest to beat. Jay was also an easy one but he was the one that bothered him the least, mostly just walking around with him like some kind of bodyguard (that joke made him leave once).

Carlos was a hard one if you didn’t know what buttons to push, and Harry spent a lot of time learning what buttons to push.

Ben was impossible, no matter what the pirate said he just laughed or made a snarky remark of his own. He tried to talk about serious subjects only twice, the first time he got a laugh in the face for his efforts and the second time Harry simply walked out in the middle of the sentence, now he seemed to have noticed that that wasn’t the way to approach the subject. If you asked Harry the right way to approach the subject was by not approaching it at all.

But in the end, it didn’t matter how many times he made them mad or walk away, they always, _always _came back the other day.

Harry was getting sick of it.

A week after what he was calling the day he-_fucking_-lost-it, he had a nightmare. There was water and crocs and his mother and his father and blood and screams and tears.

So.

He wasn’t in a good mood.

The moment Harry stepped out of his class and saw Mal, Ben, and Evie coming in his direction he thought he was going to lose it for real this time. Not caring if the avoidance was obvious, Harry simply turned and walked the other way, even so, he could hear the girls’ heels indicating that they were not far behind.

Harry rushed his steps and turned the corner hoping to reach his class already but since his day was going wonderfully so far, Gil and Uma were leaning on the door of his Magical Creatures class at the end of the hall. Feeling his heart going faster Harry noticed that, intentionally or not, he was ambushed. Thinking fast, Harry turned and entered the first door he found, managing to do so before Mal, Evie and Ben could turn the corner and Uma and Gil could look his way.

Absently Harry noticed he had entered the janitor’s closet, but he was too relieved to think too much about it, so, with a sigh, he rested his forehead on the door and closed his eyes.

He was so _goddamn_ tired.

“Harry?” The voice startled him, making him jump and turn around and he was face-to-face with a woman in a blue dress. Harry blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing things correctly (not that _that_ had helped in the past) when she talked again. “What are you doing here?”

Only after staring at the figure for a few seconds that he noticed who was talking.

“Jane?” He said sounding as uncertain and confused as he felt. “What are you doing here?”

“I dropped some potion on the floor while training my magic and was hoping to be able to clean it before my mom saw it.” She answered shaking the cleaning product on her hand for him. “What about you?”

“Hiding.” He said without paying much attention, too busy staring at her dress. Why was he seeing that blue everywhere?

“What?” Jane asked, startled which made Harry look at her face and notice what he had said. The pirate cleared his throat and tried to appear nonchalant.

“King and Queen won’t get off my arse.” Jane squinted at him, not really believing what he was saying.

“Okaaay.” She said. “Why don’t you just talk to them?” She asked and Harry scoffed, getting tense again.

“You really are your mother’s daughter.” At her frown, Harry explained. “You say ‘talk about it’ like it’s the easiest thing. Sometimes people simply don’t want to talk, ever thought about that? Maybe the person is already dealing with too much at the moment to include talking on the list.” He finished, getting worked up.

“Okaay…But the ‘person’” She said the word making quotation marks with her hands. “needs to tell that then. In the end, for someone to know something it needs to be talked out loud.”

“No, it doesn’t.” The boy exclaimed, frowning. “Things can be known by actions. Someone does something nice that means they like you, someone stabs you in the back that means you shouldn’t have trusted them. If a person starts to drown when they are at the sea, it means they can’t swim! No need to talk!”

“If a person starts to drown when they are at the sea it could mean that the waves were strong or that the person had a cramp. Actions are open to interpretation.” Jane said not backing down.

“Words can be lies.” Harry said coldly.

“Do you want to lie?” Jane asked. _Do you want to lie? No. I want to sleep and wake up rested, I want to hear ticking only when there is a clock near, I want to believe in my eyes, I want to know if I ever had a mother._

Harry stared at the Fairy’s daughter in silence and she stared back, his face blank of emotion and hers full of determination.

“If you don’t answer, I will never know.” She said with a sigh. Then she grabbed the mop by her side and stepped closer to him. “If you don’t _talk_, they will never know.” She finished and walked around him, leaving him alone in the darkness of the locker.

Giving Harry space was not working.

Neither was letting the Core Four try to get something out of him. It wasn’t that Uma was choosing the easy path and letting someone else deal with the conversation, it was just that she thought it would be easier for him to not have to face her. That maybe he thought he had to pretend to be untouchable near her, but in the end, she was just delaying the inevitable.

The week following Harry’s…fever, Uma thought Gil was going to combust. The boy was stressed not knowing if he should stick by his captain’s side in the place Harry should be occupying and obey her wishes of not approaching the first mate yet or if he should follow his gut and go talk to his friend. Uma had not seen Gil’s as relieved as he was the moment she told him that they were going to go look for Harry.

They tried waiting for him in front of the only class Uma was sure he had today but he never appeared, the captain was sure Harry somehow knew they were there and had hid somewhere so he wouldn’t have to face them._ Good luck with that._

At the end of the day, Uma and Gil positioned themselves on the door of Harry’s room and she promised herself she wouldn’t leave until they talked. It took only a few minutes for Gil to move by her side and, when she raised her head, saw her first mate walking in their direction.

It was impossible that Harry wouldn’t have seen them but his expression was the same the whole way. Gil, on the other hand, was relieved when he saw Harry in one piece but now seemed to get tenser and tenser the closer the other boy got to them. Uma kept her face neutral and her arms crossed, she didn’t want to think she was marching to a battle but the adrenaline was the same.

When they were only a few steps from each other Harry stopped and they stared at each other. Neither pirate stood down and Uma was scared for a second that Harry would simply turn around and leave, but, surprisingly, the first mate stepped closer to them and opened the door to his room, leaving it open for them.

Uma exchanged a quick look with Gil and got into the room, closing the door after the blonde boy. Harry had put his bag on his bed and was getting rid of his jacket and his shirt, probably planning on taking a shower.

“We need to talk.” Uma said to the scars that marked Harry’s back. The boy didn’t turn to look at her but let out a sigh and his shoulders sagged.

“So I gathered.” He mumbled and slowly turned to her. He didn’t move to put on a shirt nor cover the tiredness of his face. Uma felt like he was laid bare in front of her in more ways than one.

“You can’t keep on going the way things are…_we_ can’t keep on going the way things are.” The captain said crossing her arms and trying to show her determination. Harry scoffed lightly and looked around him before turning his impossibly blue eyes on her again.

“What? Are you tired already capt’n?”

“Yes.” Uma answered softly, looking down, almost ashamed of her answer. After a few seconds of pure silence she looked up and saw an almost shocked face on Harry’s face, too late she noticed how he might have understood her words. She wasn’t tired of taking care of things, she wasn’t tired of helping her friend, she wasn’t tired of _him_. She was tired of feeling helpless and she was tired of being able to do nothing to help him.

Before she could clarify, the boy turned to Gil and with a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes asked.

“You too?” Gil didn’t seem to know what to say or do, he looked between his two friends and opened and closed his mouth a few times before taking a deep breath.

“Not…That’s not it.” He said, focusing only on the first mate now. “We just…Harry.” He said not knowing what words to say.

“What?” Harry snarled, his fists closed tightly. “Say it.”

“You won’t talk to us.” Gil answered, frustrated. “We are your friends, Harry. Since we were kids we had each other’s back, it was us against the world, but…”

“But?” Harry pressed when the blond didn’t finish.

During their conversation Uma focused her attention on one specific scar on her friend’s body, it wasn’t the ugliest one nor the most recent. It was actually pretty small and easy to look over, but the thin line over the right side of Harry’s neck would always be the one scar that sends chills over her body.

“We can’t help.” She said making both boys turn to her. “We try and try but Harry…” Her voice trembled and she looked at him and saw his attention focused one hundred percent on her, like always. “We can’t help you if you don’t let us.”

That apparently wasn’t what Harry was expecting because he looked between both of them a few times, confused and then let out a strangled laugh.

“That’s,” He said, still laughing and pointing at his captain. “That’s really funny! I almost believed you cared for a second there.” He finished and turned around, apparently looking for something in his drawers.

“What?” Uma asked, confused. Harry turned fast at that and kept smiling.

“What do you really want from me, huh?” He asked raising his arms on his sides as if to present himself. “Captain.” Harry said and Uma flinched unintentionally at the pure disgust and anger that her friend put in that one word.

“What?” She asked, her eyes wide in shock.

“What? What exactly are you the captain of, Uma?” Harry said with the cruel smile he was known for in the Isle. “We are not pirates. We don’t set sail. We don’t pillage and plunder. We don’t conquer the seven seas. _We don’t even have a ship_.”

“We have the Lost Revenge.” Gil said quietly, also shocked.

“When was the last time you saw it?” Harry said laughing maniacally. “It’s on the Isle, where we vowed to never set foot on again, so tell me, what is the use to make plans every week to go fix it if we never really go?” He looked between the two of them and when neither said anything he smiled wider. “You don’t have a pirate crew, Uma. You have a group of villain kids stuck by your side because they don’t know what else to do. You are not a captain and I am not a first mate.” He said and slowly lost his smile. “So tell me, what.do.you.want.from.me?”

Uma didn’t know when the other had come so close to her, but now they were stuck staring at each other with Uma silently begging Harry to take back what he said, to help her help him because she never needed to say what she felt and she desperately didn’t want to fail now.

But the silence stretched and Uma saw the light vanishing from Harry’s eyes the longer she stayed quiet.

Before anything else could happen, or Uma could burry herself on an even larger hole, her cell phone started to ring breaking everyone’s concentration. She knew it was Mal or Evie telling her to go to the conference hall where they were planning the talk about bullying that would happen the next day but still, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it.

“Go.” Harry said turning around and grabbing a towel from his drawer.

“Harry.” Gil said but the other shook his hand in his direction, dismissing him.

“We can finish our…talk…tomorrow.” He said passing a hand on his face. When he noticed neither Uma or Gil moved to leave. “I won’t go anywhere.” He said with a sigh and entered his bathroom and locked the door.

It took a few seconds for Uma's feet to move and when they did, she wanted nothing more than hide herself and don’t leave.

She was failing her friend. Harry was right. She was nothing.

“Captain.” Gil said making her stop her fast pace to her room. “Harry didn’t mean it. You know him, you know he says things that he knows will hurt to make people leave.”

Gil was right. It was Harry's way of doing things. Make them leave before they can leave you. Stay by those he trusts even in the most tiring days. Make sure to not stay on the way of his valued people’s ambitions. But his opinion of her wasn’t the point.

“I let him get to me. We came to talk to him, to make him get help and I let him provoke me.” Uma said refusing to let any tear fall.

“Tomorrow.” Gil said putting his hand on her shoulder. “I let him get to me too. But we won’t let it happen tomorrow. This ends tomorrow.” He said with a conviction that shook her to the core, since when Gil got so good at leading? Uma raised her hand and touched her friend's cheek.

“Thank you.” She said.

Uma couldn’t keep letting things go unsaid.

_Uma hadn’t left her quarters in the Lost Revenge in three days and she was sure her mother would beat her a new one for this, but right now that wasn’t her focus. She could hardly hear her own thoughts between the screams of her first mate._

_Harry was inside of her closet and she was sure that if he pounded on its door any harder it wouldn’t hold up. She was sitting on her bed and stared at the door not really looking at it, just making sure her friend wasn’t alone, even if he couldn’t see her._

_“LET ME OUT! HE’S GOING TO KILL ME! MAKE HIM STOP! HELP! PLEASE! PLEASE!” His voice ringed and Uma didn’t move a finger. She was so focused on the door that she almost jumped out of her skin when Gil appeared by her side with a tray with a plate of stale soup and a glass of water. She nodded in thanks and stretched her legs to put the tray on her lap. Gaston’s son sat by her side and stared at the door while she ate._

_“Did he eat anything?” Gil asked lowly, Uma hearing it only because she was right by his side. She shrugged and cleaned a few drops of soup that had fallen on her chin._

_“I put bread and water inside a yesterday but…” She shrugged again and turned again to her soup. Gil fidgets with his fingers, not taking his eyes off the closet door._

_“HELP ME! PLEASE! PLEASE! LET ME OUT! UMA! GIL! LET ME OUT!” Harry screamed and Gil closed his eyes with force. Uma stopped eating not knowing if she would be able to hold anymore on her stomach. She put the tray aside and rested her head on the wall behind her, closing her eyes and trying to focus on what she would do tomorrow, anything to distract her from the screams of her friend._

_Suddenly, there was silence. _

_Uma snapped her eyes opened and she noticed Gil doing the same. They stared at the closet for a few seconds before standing up. Gil unlocked the door and they both slowly looked inside. Harry was seated on the corner and it took a few seconds for Uma to notice that his hands were rubbing desperately on his own neck. She kneeled in front of him and tried to hold his hands and get his attention._

_“Harry, calm down.” She said seriously hoping to get through him but he was mumbling to himself and kept his eyes closed, his head thrashing from side to side, only then she noticed the cuts on his neck. He was scratching himself so much he was bleeding._

_“Get them out…get them out…” He repeated over and over trying to get his hands on his neck again, using strength that he shouldn’t be able to use after not eating in the last three days. _

_Uma hoped Harry knew she loved him. Hoped he knew that there was nothing she wouldn’t do to help him. Hoped he knew that she would always stay by his side as he stood by hers. Hoped he knew she would never hurt him or let _anyone_ do it. _

_Looking at her first mate soaked in sweat face she remade her vow of trying her everything to not let anyone hurt her friend ever again._

_“Gil.” She said her voice pure steel. “Tie his hands.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is a short one but I get a feeling you will like it :))  
As always, comment what you think! It makes me type faster.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You can’t keep on going the way things are…we can’t keep on going the way things are.” Uma said crossing her arms, her face showing only pure determination. He was wrong. He couldn't do this, not now. He had to find a way out. Now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? Told ya'll I was a changed person...I have the feeling you will like this chapter ;)

Harry knew he couldn’t escape any longer, maybe if he just got this over with then things would go back to normal when he didn’t have to worry that everyone wanted to talk about his problems, when they could talk about mundane things like pineapple on pizza. But deep down he knew, he knew things would never be the same again.

When Harry walked back to his room after his class and saw Uma and Gil perched at his dorm’s door like two guards, he knew it was time to get this over with. _Time to do what he had to do._

Harry opened the door to his room and let it open for Gil and Uma, he then threw his bag on the bed and got rid of his jacket and shirt just to have something to do to calm his nerves.

“We need to talk.” Uma said behind him, and Harry felt his shoulders sag. He knew what would happen next, it would be hard but it was the right thing, _he knew what he had to do._

“So I gathered.” He mumbled and slowly turned to the other two. For the first time in who knew how long, Harry didn’t try to hide the tiredness on his face, but it would be okay. _He could do this_.

“You can’t keep on going the way things are…we can’t keep on going the way things are.” Uma said crossing her arms, her face showing only pure determination. He was wrong. _He couldn't do this_, not now. He had to find a way out. _Now._

Harry scoffed and looked around trying to find any distraction or way to get out.

“What? Are you tired already, capt’n?” He said looking at the girl again.

“Yes.” Uma answered softly, and Harry felt like he had gotten punched in the face, he couldn’t hide the shock on his face. It was one of his worst nightmares, his captain, his friend, his Uma, was tired of him. Tired of having to deal with his bullshit. _He had to get out now now now now now. _

He could hear his father laughing behind him but Harry simply turned to Gil with a smirk on his face and asked:

“You too?” But the blonde didn’t answer right away, he was scared of saying anything. Gil was scared of talking to him, he knew that lost look on his friend’s eyes meant he would say whatever would get him out of this situation. _He couldn’t do this._

“Not…That’s not it.” Gil said looking, _begging_, at him. “We just… Harry.” He didn’t seem to know what to say.

_They don’t care, they don’t know how to act, they don’t know what to do, you make them uncomfortable, you make them feel out of place, you make them feel like they are doing the wrong thing, you make them feel the same way their parents did! _His father (his own?) voice snarled at him and, in turn, he snarled at Gil.

“What? Say it.” His voice was cold, almost like his father’s.

“You won’t talk to us.” Gil answered, frustrated. “We are your friends, Harry. Since we were kids we had each other’s back, it was us against the world, but…”

“But?” Harry pressed when the boy didn’t finish. _Say it. Say you can’t take it anymore, say it’s too much for you two, say that it’s not worth it, say that I am not worth it. SAY IT._

“We can’t help.” Uma said suddenly, making both of them turn to her. His father’s laugher was louder than before. “We try and try, but Harry…” Uma's voice trembled and Harry couldn’t help but pay attention to every single breath out of her, couldn’t help but listen to what his captain was saying, what was causing her so much pain. “We can’t help you if you don’t let us.”

_He had to stop it. He had to get out. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t. He had to get out now now now now now now_

_You are weak_

_Now now now now NOW_

Harry heard a strangled laugh and wasn’t sure if it was him or his father.

“That’s,” He said and pointed at Uma. _He had to get out of this. _“That’s really funny! I almost believed you cared for a second there” He said and turned around, opening and closing his drawers so he could stop looking at them. _Please, leave. Please._

“What?” Uma asked behind him and Harry turned around so fast that for a second there were four people in the room with him instead of two. His cheeks were hurting but he couldn’t tell why.

“What do you really want from me, huh?” Harry asked raising his arms at his sides so Uma could see everything her first mate had become. _First mate. What a joke._ _Should have known you were good for nothing the moment you become a first mate, not a captain. Imagine, a Hook obeying orders._ “Captain.” Harry was sure now that it was his father's voice.

“What?” His captain asked with wide eyes.

“What? What exactly are you the captain of, Uma?” Now Harry knew why his cheeks were hurting. It felt like his father had used his hook to put an eternal smile on his face.

“We are not pirates.” _He had to get out._

“We don’t set sail.” _Now._

“We don’t pillage and plunder.” _He couldn’t do this._

“We don’t conquer the seven seas.” _Please, leave._

“We don’t even have a ship.” _Please._

“We have the Lost Revenge.” Gil said quietly. _We don’t have anything_.

“When was the last time you saw it?” His father answered, his laugh entering Harry’s ears and making him want to wipe them clean. “It’s on the Isle, where we vowed to never set foot on again,” _Coward._ “so tell me, what is the use to make plans every week to go fix it if we never really go?” _Coward, I lost my mother, now I am losing my friends._

“You don’t have a pirate crew, Uma.” Captain Hook said with a crocodile’s smile on his face. “You have a group of villain kids stuck by your side because they don’t know what else to do.” _I don’t know what to do._ “You are not a captain and I am not a first mate.”

_I am not a first mate._

“So tell me,” Harry said, not knowing when he had walked but now he was face to face with Uma. “What.do.you.want.from.me?”

_Please, leave._

_Please, stay._

_Please, don’t talk to me anymore._

_Please, say something._

_Please._

Uma stayed silent and for the first time, Harry couldn’t read her face. Maybe that was his answer.

_Congratulations, you ruined it._

There was a ring indicating that Uma had received a message and Harry knew he had found his way out.

“Go.” The boy said turning around, slowly he went to his drawer and took a towel from it.

“Harry.” Gil said but Harry shook his hand in his direction, dismissing him. He had to hide away and lick his wounds before he could continue this conversation.

“We can finish our…talk…tomorrow.” He said passing a hand on his face trying to see if he could erase the last few minutes, the last few hours, the last few days, weeks, months, with the motion but it was in vain. When he looked up, he saw that the other two hadn’t moved a muscle.

He tried not to notice that Uma hadn’t moved since the last time she spoke, he tried not to notice that Gil’s eyes were full of water, he tried not to notice that his clock was ticking and his father was laughing.

“I won’t go anywhere.” He said with a sigh and entered his bathroom and locked the door.

Slowly, Harry slipped until he was sitting on the floor with his back on the door.

He didn’t scream, he didn’t cry, he didn’t dig his fingers in his hair, he didn’t beat himself up until his hands bled.

He didn’t move, he didn’t even blink until he heard the sound of the door of his room opening and closing.

Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Harry got up, took out his pants and underwear and went to the shower. He stood there for a few seconds before noticing that he hadn’t turned it on and, after making sure that the water was the hottest it could get, he put himself under the spray of water, closed his eyes, and let himself drown.

Harry woke up with a pain on his back that meant he had fallen asleep in a weird position. Opening his eyes slowly, he was glad that he hadn’t opened his curtains yesterday since the light of the sun would have gotten him blind by now, but that also meant he didn’t know what time it was.

Debating either he wanted to get up or not, Harry closed his eyes again but, in the end, his bladder won. So he got up and went to the bathroom first, always avoiding the mirror before grabbing his phone. Only after clicking again and again on the button did he notice that the thing was without battery. _Stupid Auradon’s Technology._ With a sigh, he connected it with the charger and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Now he couldn’t help but look at the mirror, his hair was in disarray, and even in the darkness of his unlit bathroom, Harry could see that his usually vibrant eyes were dull.

Gil used to say they looked uncanny, Uma used to say they looked like when the sun hit the ocean.

He thought they looked like his father’s.

_They look like fire._ His mother said.

He spit the toothpaste.

The boy took off his clothes to change then went to his phone to find out what time it was.

14:32

Huh.

That meant he had lost his morning classes and lunch.

That also meant he had slept through a whole night for the first time in what felt like forever.

Slept through a good part of the day too.

He passed his hands through his hair so it would look stylish messy instead of simply messy and, not caring that the phone hadn’t passed the 1% of battery, he disconnected it and grabbed his bag. Maybe he could still be on time for his Remedial Goodness class, the idea of seeing so many VK’s, but mainly so many of his friends, was scary but he felt like he couldn’t be alone at the moment.

When Harry made it to the classroom, he frowned at the locked door and turned off lights. The whole hall was empty and it took a few minutes for him to remember that the Bullying talk was today and it was probably happening at that exact moment on the Auradon’s auditorium.

Go figure that the only day Harry wanted, _needed_, the distraction of the classes it was the day he got it wrong where he should be at.

With a sigh, he hit his head on the door already knowing that the day wasn’t going to be good. Distantly, he heard his father laughing so he hit his forehead on the wall again, harder, thinking that maybe, if he did it enough times he would knock himself out and save himself the job of having to move to the auditorium.

“Finally lost it, ye?”

The voice made him freeze. It wasn’t the usual taunting he heard from his father, maybe today really wasn’t going to be his day.

“Ye aren’t gonna hug yer father? Tis been so long.” His father said and suddenly Harry really didn’t want to move, but it was like there was a cold hand moving his muscles for him, so slowly he turned around and there he was.

Captain Hook.

Harry could feel his panic growing the more his father’s smile grew, and the ticking of the clock suddenly felt like a hammer nailing his coffin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment telling me what you think! Anything is welcome!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was drowning, he was drowning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, when did the last two months pass? I swear I was planning on posting this only a week after last chapter...can we pretend I did? No? Okay then...hope you enjoy...I did say it was going to get worse before it gets better...

This couldn’t be real. He was seeing things, it was just another hallucination. But the four guards at his father’s side proved the opposite.

“Ye are jus’ gonna stand there?” His father snarled and his feet moved without him asking them to. Before he knew it, he was standing closer to his father, still far enough that they couldn’t touch but it was the closest he had been to the man in…years.

Harry had not gone back to his father’s house since the last time he used his hook against him, he had been living on the Lost Revenge before the barrier got down. He didn’t know if his father even knew he had helped to save Auradon.

This close he could smell rum and fish and rot on his father, but underneath he could also smell the sea. He missed the sea.

“How’s the big good kingdom treating ye, son?” His father asked. He had cuffs on and he looked briefly at the guards by his sides. Harry gulped and could only nod slightly, looking his father up and down. “WORDS, BRAT!” He screamed suddenly, making Harry flinch, startled. The guards put their hands on the pirate’s shoulders but didn’t move to take him out of there.

“Go-Good.” Harry said, his voice weaker than he intended it, his eyes now fixed on the floor.

“Really? Ye don’t seem too good.” The man spoke making Harry look at his face and James Hook’s grin got wider at his son’s expression. “Missed ye papa, eh?” He laughed that loud, drunk, horrible laugh. How could Harry ever mistake it for one of his hallucinations, the laugher, the real one, was so loud, it would ring in Harry’s head for hours after.

The boy could feel his hands start to shake and he had the sudden urge to check if his father had his hook on him. Slowly, so his father wouldn’t take him taking his eyes off his face as a sign of cowardice, he looked down and saw _it_. It was shining just like his father liked it, his hook reflecting the light and Harry was sure it was blinding him.

“Why don’t ye tell those gentlemen that you miss yer papa?” Captain Hook said making Harry look up again and he felt like he was drowning. He could only stare as his father’s expression got darker with every second it took for him to respond.

“You…” Harry started numbly. “aren’t supposed to be here.” He whispered brokenly. Auradon was supposed to be his freedom. It was supposed to mean he wouldn’t suffer because of his father’s crimes anymore. It was supposed to mean he wouldn’t _suffer_ anymore. _Fairy Godmother had promised._

But if the last days had taught him something, it was that the suffering would never stop.

“What?” His father said and his smile was gone now, his eyes getting redder and redder. Harry knew what it meant but before he could run his father was suddenly on him.

Harry wasn’t a small kid but he was still a kid, his father made almost no effort at all to push him against the wall, his hand closing on his throat and his hook starting to cut his cheek. The four guards tried to push the man away but he wasn’t moving an inch.

“It was ‘cause of ye that I stayed so long on that bloody island?” He asked and cut more of Harry’s air supply. “ANSWER ME, BOY!” He screamed at his face and Harry managed a nod that only made his father put more strength on his hands. He didn’t know if the wetness he felt on his face were tears or blood from where his father was pressing his hook and he could faintly hear screams of the guards, but he could only see his father’s eyes and hear his voice.

“Ye think ye are better than me, son?” The Captain snarled, so close to his face Harry could almost feel his teeth on his face. “Lost Boys are the same on Neverland and the Isle, and you enjoyed every second of terrorizing them as much as I did in Neverland! If I deserve to be on that bloody place so do ye!” Harry’s vision was getting darker and darker and he was sure he would never breathe normally again, but his father’s voice was as clear as ever on his ears. “Yer hands are as bloody as mine, boy! Ye should be grateful that I kept that roof over yer head after what ye did.”

Suddenly, the pressure on his neck disappeared and Harry slid to the floor, touching his neck and coughing to try to get his throat to work again. His eyes opened slowly and he saw that the guards had gotten a hold of his father but the man was still fighting them and trying to get to Harry again.

“Ye ‘re crazier than me, Harry.” His father said and started laughing. “They don’t know but I know ye, boy! Ye like to scare children and watch people drown just like me!” The guards started to take James Hook away but he kept his eyes locked on his son, his laugher getting more and more unhinged. “I KNOW YE! YE CRAZIER THAN ME! YE WILL ROT ON DAVID JONES’ LOCKER FOR WHAT YE DID!” He screamed and screamed and laughed and laughed.

After the guards had taken his father out, Harry could still hear him, his laughter ringing in his head, his hands were shaking and he could still feel the man’s hand on his throat and his hook in his face.

He wasn’t supposed to be in Auradon, he was supposed to be rotting in the Isle of the Lost.

The smell of rum was stuck on his nose, on his clothes, on him.

He got the desperate urge to take a shower and not leave until he had scraped his skin clean. Getting an idea, Harry took off his jacket in a rush and was ready to do the same with his shirt and pants when suddenly he was drowning.

He wanted to run but he couldn’t move from the floor.

He wanted to scream but there was too much water on his throat.

He could hear his father still yelling at him.

_Stop fighting it, you little disgrace. C’mon, just stay quiet, no one is going to help you. You are going to drown just like _her.

He tried to make his father stop, tried to make him let go of his hair but he couldn’t take his head out of the bathtub, his arms too short to reach his father, his strength too little to fight him off.

He was drowning, he was drowning.

_It couldn’t be said that Harry didn’t see it coming. He knew that the next day his father would be furious but he desperately wanted to pretend it would be okay, that his father would hug him and say it was okay. That his father would be like his mom and let Harry rest on his chest until his tears dried._

_But the reality was this. _

_His father woke him up screaming, his five-year-old self not being able to understand his father’s drunk words at that time in the morning (or was it still night?), but he understood the urgency and anger in his voice, so he was already begging and apologizing even before the man grabbed him by his hair._

_In the end, his pleas fell to deaf ears, his father dragged him, still screaming, until they reached the bathroom. When Harry saw the full bathtub he started fighting harder, but he wasn’t strong enough. His father kneeled by the bathtub and almost lost his balance but kept his hand firm and, before Harry could take a chance and run for his life, the man pushed his head underwater._

_Harry tried to scream but it only made the water get into his throat, he moved his arms his legs, anything to make his father let go of his hold of him but nothing was working. _

_He was going to die._

_Distantly he heard his father talking to him but he couldn’t make out what he was saying, could only hear You are dying You are dying You are dying You are dying You are dying You are dying._

_Yet, suddenly, the hand was gone from his hair and, immediately, the boy raised his head and started to cough, desperate to breathe air again. He looked to the side and saw that his father was crouched down throwing up the rum he drank on the floor. He wouldn’t be throwing up forever and soon he would go back to what he was doing, so Harry hurriedly got up, almost losing his step thrice on the way, and ran._

_He couldn’t go very far, his throat was still hurting and he could still feel water on his nose, his legs were weak and he couldn’t stop shaking, so, desperate to find someplace to hide before his father stopped throwing his guts out, Harry opened the closet door and got in, closed it and sat with his back to the door. Despite his wish to take deep breaths to enjoy the air he thought he would never breathe again, Harry put his hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t make a single sound and end up giving in his hiding place to his father._

_The boy expected pure silence but instead, he could hear an incessant sound. A sound that seemed to get into his brain and create a home there._

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc_

_With wide eyes, Harry looked around and noticed for the first time that, in his hurry, he had gotten inside the closet where his father kept the clocks for his shop. _

_“Ye think ye can hide from me, boy?” His father’s voice suddenly sounded from the other side of the door. With tears falling from his eyes, Harry crawled to the other side of the small closet and hugged his knees, hoping that all the vomiting had made his father at least a little weaker, but instead of the door opening like he was expecting, suddenly there was a small sound, almost muffled by the sound of the clocks._

_Click._

_“Ye ‘re goin’ to stay there then. Hope ye like clocks”_

_His father had locked him there. _

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc_

_Panicking, Harry went to the door and started to try to open it but it stayed firmly in place, then he knocked, he banged on the door, openly sobbing now, and, for the second time on that day, begged for his father to let him go, but his father only laughed and laughed._

_Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc _

It wasn’t like the talk was a bad idea. It was a great idea. The Isle kids were the prime target and main prompters of bullying in Auradon Prep. But still, Jay could feel himself dying of boredom. It didn’t matter how many times he tried to make Carlos talk to him the other was focused on the woman speaking. Normally he would be messing around with Gil but one look behind him he saw that the blonde boy seemed to be with his head far away and to be honest, he hadn’t really talked to the boy since the whole thing with Harry and he wasn’t sure to what to say. Looking at Gil’s side, Jay noticed that Uma was staring at the woman presenting with way too much attention, but she clearly wasn’t seeing her. It was not easy to see the two of them so stressed after the las days but still, it got red alarms ringing in Jay’s head.

Frowning, Jay looked around trying to see if he could find Harry but Evie came in his field of vision first. The blue-haired girl looked nervous, and only then did Jay notice that the sound of the microphone that the panelist was using was making weird sounds, making it almost impossible to understand what she was saying. Jay looked at Evie again and noticed she was signaling to him from the other side of the auditorium. After a few seconds Jay understood she wanted him to get Carlos’s attention for her, but, sensing his way out of the boredom, he slapped Carlos’ chest, indicated Evie and got up taking him to the blue-haired girl.

“Carlos,” Evie said when they got close. “Can you fix the sound?” She said looking nervously between the woman talking on the stage and her two friends.

“Probably…but I think it will be faster if I just got another microphone and set it up for her.” Carlos answered, making Evie sigh in frustration.

“Okay, but do it fast.”

“I’m on it.” Carlos said with a nod.

“I’ll go with you.” Jay said, hoping that no one was going to question it.

“What? Why?” The white-haired boy asked with a frown, crushing Jay’s hopes.

“To help you.” Jay said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“It’s just one microphone.” Carlos said, not buying Jay’s shit.

“Shut up, you two.” Evie said suddenly, making them both turn to her. “Just go!” She said and waved them off with her hands indicating she would allow no more talk about the subject. With a winning grin on his face, Jay pushed Carlos ahead of him and left after him.

They had barely had turned on the hall when Carlos made clear he knew what Jay’s true intentions were.

“You’re impossible, you know that? Can’t believe you can’t stay quiet for 50 minutes to listen to the talk.”

“It’s 50 minutes dude! No one can stay quiet for 50 minutes!” Jay said, exasperated.

“It had a fifteen-minute break, and everyone else was fine.” Carlos said with a scoff. “And, plus, we should support Mal and Evie, they worked really hard to make this happen.”

“I am supporting them.” Jay said earning himself a raised eyebrow from the other. “By not interrupting or causing trouble on their TED talk.”

“TED talks only last 18 minutes.” Carlos said, but before Jay could comment on that they both heard screams coming from the opposite side of the equipment room. With a quick look at each other, they both went the way the screams were coming from.

The more they walked it seemed as if the screams were getting quieter as if the person screaming was moving away from them. They couldn’t understand the words but the tone combined with the laughter coming from the person was enough to make them rush their steps.

In the end, they didn’t find the source of the screams but found something else that made them stop.

Harry Hook was sitting on the floor, his jacket and backpack by his side. He didn’t seem to notice Jay and Carlos approaching, and slowly both boys started walking again in his direction.

“Hey, Harry.” Jay said but the other didn’t turn or respond. Frowning, Jay got closer and then he noticed why the other wasn’t answering him.

“He’s chocking!” Carlos said, alarmed, and both hushed their steps again and kneeled in front of Harry. Up close they could see that the pirate was shaking and sweating a lot, one of his hands was clutched at his shirt above his chest and the other was holding his own hair, both hands were white with the strength of his hold, his eyes were staring ahead but weren’t focused at anything, he was gasping as if he wasn’t getting enough air in his lungs.

“What do I do?” Jay asked desperately, but Carlos didn’t answer. In panic, Jay looked at his friend saw that he was looking intensely at Harry. “Carlos!” He screamed, getting the other’s attention. Distantly he heard Harry whimper. “What do I do? What’s the procedure for chocking?” Jay asked and insanely thought that perhaps Mal and Evie should advocate for a talk about first aid.

“He’s not chocking.” Carlos answered, making Jay frown. The white-haired boy raised his hands as if he was scared to touch Harry but tried to find the pirate’s eyes. “He’s having a panic attack.”

“What?” Jay asked numbly, but Carlos didn’t look at him anymore.

“Harry. Harry.” He said, trying to get the other’s attention in vain, then he raised his hand and snapped his fingers in front of Harry’s eyes. After what felt like forever Harry turned and looked at Carlos, and Jay finally got a good look at his face. He was surprised to see that Harry had a cut on his cheek that was still dripping blood, his eyes were red and Jay was sure that the wetness on his face wasn’t only from sweat. Looking down, Jay frowned when he saw the angry red marks on Harry’s neck.

“I am going to touch you, ok?” Carlos said before raising his hand and touching Harry’s wrist that was raised to his hair. Slowly he untangled his hand and put it on his own chest. “Breathe.” He said and took a deep breath to show him what he should do.

Jay watched the scene numbly, still staring at the red marks on Harry’s neck, suddenly the faint laugh and screams they were following before got louder in his ears. Jay clenched his fists and his jaw, already feeling his temper getting the best of him, without saying a word, he got up and left to the opposite side he and Carlos came from and didn’t stop to see if Carlos had noticed his departure.

“Breathe, Harry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rumors are true, comments make my day and make me write faster ;))


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry slowly looked around trying to remember where he was and blinked hard trying to get the moisture out of his eyes. He still felt confused and bone-deep tired but when he met Carlos’s eyes he couldn’t handle the deep worry he saw there, so, slowly, Harry put his hands on the wall using the support to get up, trying not to show how his legs were shaking. Sensing his weakness, Carlos’s put his hands on his arms, helping the other to get up.
> 
> “Let go.” Harry snarled, but his voice was shaking so much it was hard to put any bite in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes...it's necessary a pandemic to make me update....your comments made my will to write alive tho...LOVE YALL! Hope you enjoy this chapter and be excited for the next one bc I worked hard on it!

Jay didn’t really think about where he was going, he simply followed the voices, seeing only red. He wasn’t paying attention to the time either, so he didn’t how long it took for him to find the source of the voices. By now the laughter had died down but the voice talking with a thick accent was getting clearer and clearer. The three shapes came into his field of vision and everything was a blur in Jay’s head.

His thoughts were almost separated from his movements, distantly he noticed that Captain Hook was bigger than he thought he would be (he never had the chance to meet him on the Isle, only heard whispers and rumors about him on the streets, his own father thought the pirate was too brute, always preferring cutting words over violence). He also noticed that the Captain was wearing rags and smelled like rot, he smelled like the Isle.

He also noticed that for an evil pirate captain, Captain Hook made a really undignified noise when punched in the jaw.

Suddenly one of the two guards that were escorting the villain grabbed his arm and pushed him back so he wouldn’t try a second attack. The second guard stayed by the pirate’s side making sure he wouldn’t do anything, but Jay didn’t pay attention to any of that, instead, focusing his attention only on the man.

“Don’t you get close to him ever again, you son of a bitch!” The teenager snarled and tried not to stand down at the glare he received from the other. Captain Hook’s eyes were darker than Harry’s but still a shade of blue, except that now, while looking at the kid that had just punched him, his eyes looked more red than blue.

“Ya little scoundrel” He snarled back. “I am gonna gut ya like a fish” He said and raised his hook but the guard by his side held his arm down.

“You will never raise your hand against him or anyone ever again, you hear me?” Jay screamed, ignoring the pushes he was getting from the guard. Hook frowned at him for a few seconds then started to laugh the same laughter Jay and Carlos had heard before.

“Ya talking about Harry.” He said between laughs. “He needed someone to defend his honor, ye?” The man continued before he could answer that with another cutting remark. “Don’t worry, boy.” He said in and faux innocent voice. “I don’t need to raise a finger to make my son’s life a living hell.” Jay frowned while the captain raised his hand and tapped his head. “His head will do the job for me.”

That was it. Jay was going to break his nose.

But before he could advance on the man again, loud steps made him turn and he saw more guards coming running in their direction. Four of them went directly to the pirate and took the laughing villain away while two others put their hands on Jay’s chest, blocking his way.

“Kid, you should be on the auditorium with the other Isle kids.” One of the guards said and Jay turned his glare to him.

“Why are you letting _him_ walk in the school freely like that?”

“He wasn’t walking freely he was being escorted by two trained guards. There was no risk of meeting any Isle kid if you had been in the mandatory talk in the auditorium like you were supposed to be. And I don’t like it when a teenager tries to tell me how to do my job. Now go back to the talk and I will think about not reporting you to the Headmistress.”

“I may regret many things” Jay started, his voice made of pure venom. “But punching Captain Hook in the face will never be one of them.” With a last glare at the man, Jay turned and left the way he came.

Everything was blurred and Harry was sure he would never breathe normally again. Distantly he had the sensation that someone was holding his hand and talking to him but his mind couldn’t focus.

“Breath, Harry.” The voice said and he wanted to scream back _I can't._

After what felt like days, years, his senses started to come back to him. First, he managed to get a hold of his lungs again, then his ears stopped buzzing and he finally recognized the voice talking to him.

“Breath like me, Harry.” Carlos said and started counting slowly. Then Harry managed to get the feeling of his members back, noticing that the white-haired boy was holding his hand to his chest so he could feel his breathing, and, with that, Harry could calm his breathing even more and finally his vision started getting clearer. Yet, it felt like forever before he felt stable enough to pull his hand back from Carlos’s hand.

Harry slowly looked around trying to remember where he was and blinked hard trying to get the moisture out of his eyes. He still felt confused and bone-deep tired but when he met Carlos’s eyes he couldn’t handle the deep worry he saw there, so, slowly, Harry put his hands on the wall using the support to get up, trying not to show how his legs were shaking. Sensing his weakness, Carlos’s put his hands on his arms, helping the other to get up.

“Let go.” Harry snarled, but his voice was shaking so much it was hard to put any bite in it. When the white-haired boy didn’t let go of him, Harry pulled his arm away from his reach and prayed silently that he wouldn’t fall on his face when he let go of the wall behind him. The other didn’t seem offended or in any way affected by Harry’s tone and actions, only looking at him with those eyes full of worry.

“Do you want me to call Uma and Gil?” He asked quietly, and Harry almost had whiplash with the speed he turned to look at the boy before him.

“No.” He said louder than he intended, making Carlos frown.

“Harry…” Carlos started but Harry raised his hand, making him stop.

“No. I don’t want to hear anything.” He said and Carlos sighed in response.

“It’s okay to be not okay.” He affirmed but the other was already shaking his head.

“I am done with not having control over my life. Do you have any idea what’s like to have nightmares about things you don’t even remember happening? Not knowing what’s real and what’s not?” Harry snarled and deep down he knew he was being unfair, Carlos’s had no blame in any of this. He should stop discounting his anger on the wrong people. “I am done.” He said with a joyless laugh and turned to leave, his steps getting steadier the longer he walked.

Carlos stayed where he was, his mind remembering all the times he woke up screaming because he had dreamed about something his mother had done to him, how those were always worse than when he dreamed about something that might have happened. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to not know what had really happened or not, the uncertainty would make him go insane.

Before he could dwell on it any further, Jay came back and Carlos could see that he was fuming.

“Where were you?” Carlos asked, crossing his arms. Jay looked around briefly, probably checking if Harry was still around before a smirk appeared on his face.

“I just punched Captain _fucking_ Hook.” He said with pride and Carlos's eyes widened in shock.

“You what?”

“I punched Captain _motherfucking_ Hook, and I am not gonna lie, it was satisfying in a way.” Carlos raised an eyebrow at that.

“Really? I thought you had never met him in the Isle.”

“I didn’t. It was satisfying because, besides the obvious,” Jay started, indicating the place Harry was seated before. “of everything he represented, you know?” He finished, speaking lower.

Carlos knew what he was talking about. There was some satisfaction in getting back at least one of the people who made the VK’s, _theirs_, lives so horrible.

“Anyway,” Carlos said rubbing his hand on his face. “I think we should go talk to Uma and Gil.” Jay didn’t need an explanation for that, he simply nodded and followed him back to the auditorium.

Jay and Carlos got back to the auditorium and found it in complete chaos, apparently, the problems with the sound had been the push the VK’s needed to start to question everything the woman was talking about.

There was a group of VK’s surrounding the speaker and the ones that weren’t screaming their questions were talking among themselves, and Jay feared the moment that Evie found them and started questioning them on where they have been and where was the microphone that they left to get in the first place.

But in the end, both boys didn’t get to take a single step into the room before Evie and Mal were on them.

“Where the hell have you been?” Mal asked crossing her arms.

“And where is the mic?” Evie asked frustrated, she was the most disheveled that Jay had ever seen her, and for a second he let himself feel guilty for not getting the mic like she had asked them to before he focused again on what mattered.

“Something happened.” Carlos said, raising his hands to calm both girls down, and before any of them could talk again, he continued. “Where are Uma and Gil?” At that Mal and Evie frowned and looked around quickly, trying to find the two pirates, however, Mal turned back to them when she didn’t find them at first glance.

“Why?” She asked and Carlos hesitated. Suddenly, Fairy Godmother went their way, the only indication she was in any kind of panic was her fast steps.

“You found the new mic?” She asked when she finally reached them but Jay found himself getting angry at her in a way he never felt before.

“You have more things to worry about.” He said between clenched teeth. The headmistress stared at him with wide eyes while Evie and Mal frowned at him. Distantly he felt Carlos’s hand on his arms in an attempt to calm him down but it wasn’t working. “Like your _guest_” He said the word like it was poisonous and now the woman was frowning too.

“Uma!” Carlos shouted, making everyone turn to him and then to the captain coming their way. Gil was right behind her and now Jay didn’t know what to say, how was he supposed to talk about what happened?

“Captain Hook is here.” Jay felt his lips moving and he wasn’t sure why he said it like that, he probably should have at least separated both pirates from the commotion of the auditorium before talking about this, because now he had five shocked faces looking at him.

“WHAT?” Uma said and if Jay thought he was angry, it didn’t come close to what he was seeing on Uma’s eyes.

“That’s not possible…” Fairy Godmother said lowly but all eyes turned to her. “I didn’t give the order for this. Captain Hook was condemned to live his life on the Isle with no contact with Aurodon or…” She trailed off but it was easy to guess the rest.

“Well, then someone got over your head.” Jay said, his anger no longer directed at the woman.

“Where did you meet him?” Uma asked, her anger not going anywhere.

“At the halls…” Carlos started and seemed to get uncomfortable. “The problem is…we weren’t the only ones that met him…”

It took them a few seconds to understand what he meant with that but when it did, Jay was sure Uma was going to kill every single one of them. He was so focused on Uma’s anger and Gil’s distress that the last thing he noticed was that Fairy Godmother had gone pale.

“If anything happened or happens with Harry…” Uma said menacingly to the headmistress before leaving, Gil looked around and Jay nodded at him, hoping the other boy could feel his support, then he left after his captain.

“How is it possible that Captain Hook got brought here without your consent?” Mal asked, seemingly ready to tackle the woman if the headmistress hadn’t been looking like she was mad too.

“I am afraid that I cannot answer this with precision but I think…” She sighed and touched her face in frustration, Jay had never seen her in such disarray. “I think King Adam has been making some decisions by himself when I and King Benjamin are not present.”

“I can’t believe this.” Evie said shaking her head. “He only works in extremes, or he locks everyone on an Isle to die or he decides to bring everyone back.”

“Well, you kids take care of the talk, we can’t forget that this is important too.” Fairy Godmother said adjusting her clothes and like she was preparing herself. “I will deal with the Captain Hook situation” She said the villain’s name with pure disgust.

They all nodded and she left, Jay hoped that they all, Uma and Gil included, would be able to take care of everything in time to make sure nothing was permanently damaged, but, if what he had seen earlier in Harry’s eyes was any indication, it was already too late for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments still make me happy tho~~~ ;););) Tell me what's on your minds!!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Without hesitation, Harry stood up and ran in direction of the bridge, not stopping until he could smell the dirt and rot that could mean only one thing: he was on the Isle of the Lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...it feels like only yesterday that I updated, right? no? okay....sorry for the long wait guys, the reality is, I hate ending, and this story is coming to a close, I hope yall keep commenting and enjoying it to the end! For the better enjoyment of this chapter (since I took so long to update) I recommend a reread of the beginning chapter 6 ;))

Harry didn’t bother packing, he simply got his coat that was in his room and left, anything that he would need he could get there. His mind was like static and there was a tiny voice in his head that, for once, Harry was sure was just his subconscious saying that this was a bad idea but Harry was being honest with Carlos earlier, he was done.

If he was in a normal situation he would wait until it was dark but he couldn’t wait any longer, so, swiftly, Harry made his way to the bridge that connected Auradon with the Isle of the Lost.

After hiding himself behind some bushes for a few seconds, Harry noticed that the security wasn’t that tight, the guards probably more worried about people coming from the Isle than going there, so, without hesitation, Harry stood up and ran in direction of the bridge, not stopping until he could smell the dirt and rot that could mean only one thing: he was on the Isle of the Lost.

Harry’s feet took his almost unconsciously through the path he was all too used to, but the streets were empty, only rats and stray animals crossed his path. The street where the shops used to be was empty, containing only the rests of the vendors and their products, looking like their owners had left in hurry, which they probably did, scared that maybe Auradon would raise the barrier again.

The closer he got to Captain Hook’s house the more sure he was that he was being followed, but he wasn’t worried, the only person that scared him was cuffed in Auradon at the moment, so with a smirk, Harry grabbed an abandoned sword from the floor and confronted his tail.

To his surprise, he came face to face with two faces he knew too well.

“Uma, Gil.” He said with a sigh, lowering his sword, not that it was offering the two any threat, Uma only crossed her arms at him while Gil looked around himself uncomfortably. “What are you two doing here?”

“We could ask you the same.” Uma said with a snarl on her face, for a second Harry was back at the time they lived there, when she was a fearless and ruthless captain, always ready to do what it took to get what she wanted, but the illusion didn’t last long since she already got what she wanted and the result were her tired eyes, purple bags under her eyes and a friend that was giving her more grief than loyalty. “What the fuck, Harry?” She cursed and Harry couldn’t help the small smile, she was still fierce and no Auradon was going to change that. “Why did you come here?”

“It doesn’t…” He started but gave up in the middle of the excuse. “I have something I need to do.”

“Couldn’t you have done it in Auradon?” Gil asked still looking around with furrowed brows, and Harry realized that while his father wasn’t in the Isle, Gaston and Ursula were, making Gil and Uma exposed to anything only by being here.

“What are you guys doing here? How did you find me?” Harry asked, now tense too, looking out for any hunter or sea witch in the corners.

“We were looking for you when we saw you crossing the bridge.” Uma answered but still didn’t take her eyes off him. “What do you need to do?” She asked and Harry locked eyes with her, she wasn’t going to let it go and there was no way he was going to be able to convince her to go back to Auradon. With a sigh, Harry looked around him one last time before turning to the two again.

“Come on.” He said and turned, knowing they would follow him. It didn’t take long for them to reach the old clock shop, the place was in shreds, broken clocks everywhere, the table that used to be a stand to the products was turned over, and for second Harry thought that he should probably explain to Gil and Uma that Hook wasn’t at the Isle.

“About Hook…” Harry started but was interrupted by Uma.

“We know.” She said, making him turn to her. Her eyes were firm but there was some regret on it too, like she heard something that she shouldn’t have. It wasn’t hard to make the connection, unfortunately, Jay and Carlos had seen him right after he had the run-in with his father, they probably went babbling to the rest of the Core Four and Uma and Gil probably overheard them. Harry nodded slightly and looked at the thorn fabrics on the floor, knowing good part of the damage on the shop was caused by his father, probably in a rage fit after finding out his son had got away from this place and he had to stay in.

“Fairy Godmother had promised he wouldn’t put a foot in Auradon.” Harry murmured before he could stop himself.

“She didn’t seem to know he was there either.” Gil said lowly. He didn’t say _if it makes it any better_ because they knew it didn’t make it better, that only meant that Harry wouldn’t blame the headmistress anymore, putting his anger, instead, on any high power that decided his father should be in the same place as him.

Taking a deep breath, Harry moved to get inside the shop, he found the stairs that lead to the house easily. The steps creaked under him, the door to the house was open and he slowly stepped inside.

Upon seeing the living room, Harry’s breath got knocked out of him, it felt like he hadn’t entered the place in ages when he knew it couldn’t be more than a couple of years. Everything was still the same even if his memory had erased a few details, he remembered the ugly green armchair that stood in the middle of the room but he couldn’t remember whose blood stained it. He couldn’t remember if the bumps on the wall were because of him or his father. The cleanest place on the house was still the liquor cabinet, but it was suspiciously low on stock.

Finally, his feet moved and he got in, distantly he could feel Gil’s and Uma’s eyes on him but he didn’t turn to them, his eyes trying to take everything in. The place smelled of alcohol and the sea even if they weren’t that close to the coast, the wood floor was sticky, and the few decorations of the house were broken. Slowly, Harry headed to the cabinet where Hook kept his drinks, below the glass door that contained the rum, there was a drawer that his father never let him get near.

“What are we doing here?” Uma asked in a low voice.

“I am looking for something.” Harry answered, not looking away from the drawer.

“Looking for what?” Gil asked while Harry pulled the drawer and, to his surprise, it was locked. Harry was never one to follow rules, but the only rule of father’s that he broke was to never touch his rum, so when his father had _ordered_ his son to never _never_ get near that drawer, Harry listened, he didn’t expect that his father had gone a step further and actually locked it.

Frustrated, Harry tried a few more times to open the drawer but it wasn’t giving in.

“Fuck…” He murmured before grabbing the old candlestick that was on the top of the table, but before he could start to frustratedly try to smash the drawer until it opened, he felt a hand holding his wrist.

“Let’s not be animals ok” Uma murmured before pushing him aside and taking his place in front of the drawer. She gave the thing a few pulls before taking two pins from her hair, it took just a shakes of her hand before Harry heard the click of the lock. Uma didn’t try to open it, simply took a step back, and let Harry do it.

It was like for that moment it was only Harry and that damn drawer so he didn’t hesitate to pull it open. At first, there were only papers that didn’t mean anything to him, so he took them out not really caring where they fell. Distantly, he felt his breath getting uneven but Harry was only focusing on finding something, anything that told him he wasn’t completely insane.

_Something, anything, please, I can’t be wrong about this, please, anything, anything_

Then there it was.

With shaking hands, Harry took the old photo out. It was an old thing, all crinkled up and frayed at the edges.

Harry didn’t remember when it was taken or even who took it. But the image was clear.

A little dark-haired boy had his big blue eyes to the tall man on his left. The man was pointing up with his hook while his hand was firm on the boy’s shoulder. On the other side of the boy, there was a woman. Her eyes were also on the man but her hand was on the boy’s head.

_Himself._

_His father._

_His mother._

No one was smiling at the picture.

Their clothes were dirty and destroyed, clearly a product from the Isle.

His father had blood on his shirt, Harry had purple marks on his cheek and his mother had bags under her eyes.

_But God, it was his mother._

She wasn’t wearing a blue nightgown but it was undeniable that the woman he had been seeing, hallucinating, was his mother.

She was real.

“Harry…” He heard and felt the hand at his shoulder at the same time, and only when he turned to look at Uma did he notice that he had tears on his eyes. Uma looked worriedly at him and Gil was right behind her with an identical frown on his face.

“My mom.” Harry said with a weak laugh he didn’t really feel. “My mom, she is...was real. My mom’s real.” He said and raised the picture to show them. Gil took the photo from his hands but the frown didn’t disappear from their faces.

“I don’t…” Gil said shaking his head a little looking between the photo and his friend.

“What do you mean she’s real?” Uma asked when Gil didn’t finish.

“I keep seeing her.” Harry said looking at the back of the picture still in Gil’s hands. “She was everywhere but…but I didn’t remember her.” He said frowning, his voice fading at the end. Suddenly his mother was there again, not in the room, but in his memories. Harry stumbled back until his back hit the wall, his eyes focused on a place on the floor. “She didn’t like it when I left the house.”

_She wouldn’t let him leave the house, she used to say that the outside world was too dangerous, full of people trying to snuff his light away._

“She liked to hide from dad on the closet.”

_He asked why they had to sleep on the closet and she said they were just playing hide-and-seek but she never answered who they were hiding from._

“She read stories to distract me when we stayed there for too long.”

_He remembered that she used to read to him storybooks about princesses and princes without the bitter tone the other people on the Isle used when talking about heroes. He remembered she used to sing to him softly while caressing his hair until he had fallen asleep._

“But dad wasn’t in the house most of the time, most of his crew was still on what was left of the Jolly Roger so he spent his days there, reliving the old days.”

_His father was never at home, she used to say he was too busy fighting nightmares on the sea. Harry asked if he could fight too and she said that no, he was too precious for that._

“She never talked when dad was at the house, she just pulled me to stay locked on the closet with her until we had to left to eat or something.”

_He used to pull the hem of her dress and ask her why she only talked with him when they were alone, she said that was because he was special and deserved her undivided attention._

“She hated when I asked her anything, didn’t let me even look outside the window, saying the world was too dangerous.”

_His mother used to read him storybooks about princesses and princes that married using big dresses and gold suits. About princesses and princes that won against evil by using goodness and forgiveness. About princesses and princes that listened to their parents and stayed inside and didn’t ask too many questions._

“She wasn’t nice.”

_His mother used to sing to him softly while caressing his hair until he had stopped talking. She sang songs about pirates destroying villages and houses burning. She sang about the light on his eyes that, even being the lightest blue, made her remember of fire. She caressed his hair using her fingers to untangle it. She caressed his hair roughly, pushing strands to untangle imaginary knots from it._

“One night, I asked her to see the sea. I don’t know why I asked, I knew she would say no, but I asked anyway. She stayed quiet for a long time then she said yes, but she made me promise I wouldn’t leave her side.”

_Harry used to lie down on her chest and listen to her heartbeat._

“We went outside and it was freezing, she had only her nightgown on but she didn’t stop walking. I tried asking her to go back because I was too cold but she held onto my hand and didn’t let it go. When we reached the sea I was terrified, I never thought it was that big, so I begged her to go back, I was too scared, but she just slapped me and said ‘shut up, you wanted to see the sea so you are going to see the sea’”

_“You are amazing Harry.” She used to whisper. “Your eyes are going to enlighten the world.”_ _._

“She said I was too much like my dad and I got mad saying I wasn’t, so she said I had to prove it. I had to do something my father never did to her, I had to keep my promise. She said I couldn’t let go of her hand and started walking. When our feet started to touch the water I got more desperate and tried to run but she held on and kept walking. The water was so cold and I remember that I couldn’t feel my feet anymore but she just kept on. When the water was on my neck and the waves started to get too strong I managed to free myself from her hold and I just ran back to the shore, not thinking about anything but that I didn’t want to die. When I reached the sand I looked back and I saw her...she was still moving forward and then...then I couldn’t see her anymore.”

_Harry didn’t remember her face, only her hands and her soft smiles. She was always smiling._

“My dad suddenly grabbed me by my shoulder and asked where she was and I only pointed at the sea, and while he looked I just ran back here.” Harry looked around the house almost seeing himself, so small, running back to his room that he barely used, praying to whoever was listening that it all was a nightmare, but it wasn’t.

Harry noticed then that some point he had sat down and Uma and Gil were crouched in front of him. Uma had tears in her eyes that she clearly refused to let drop while Gil hadn’t that self-control, his face a mess of tears and snot that Harry bet matched his own.

“She is everywhere.” Harry said, his voice cracking looking between his friends. “She was saying that I left her. That...that it’s my fault that she’s dead...and she’s right.” He finished with a sob.

“No.” Uma said, her tears finally falling. Her hands went to his face, her thumbs going back and forth on his face, not really trying to clean the tears as much as it was trying to comfort them both. “You didn’t abandon her, she asked something of you that you couldn’t give. It’s not your fault.”

Suddenly Gil jumped in Harry’s arms giving him a tight hug that he didn’t hesitate in return. They were sobbing in each other’s arms and Uma had her hand on his hair, and all of sudden Harry was feeling lighter and lighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! YOU CAN EVEN CURSE ME FOR MAKING YOU WAIT SO LONG!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Follow me on my tumblr justchillyinginthesea to see me rambling about descendants and this fic (it's a side blog so if you want to scream at me go to booksgivemelifeiswear, always happy to talk!) Don't forget to leave a kudos and bookmark if you enjoyed and comment your thoughts on the chapter, or what you think will/wants to happen next, or which characters do you think would enjoy pineapple on pizza and which ones would think it is an abomination.


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